Booksellers from around the U.S. offer their assessment of the holiday shopping season so far:
At the Norwich Bookstore in Norwich, Vt., the holiday season has been good so far, "if a little squished-feeling," reported co-owner Sam Kaas. Sales have been solid, though Kaas was hesitant to compare things directly with last year, given the "weird shape of the season." That said, the store was up significantly in October and November, and the store had a strong Thanksgiving weekend, leading Kaas to feel cautiously optimistic heading into the "pivotal" last few weeks before Christmas.
On the subject of major titles, Kaas said this season continues a trend going back the last five years or so of moving "from having one holiday book that emerged to rule them all, to having like ten different titles all jockeying for position." Among those titles jockeying for positions are James by Percival Everett, The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Impossible Creatures and Vanishing Treasures by Katherine Rundell, The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck, and What I Ate in a Year by Stanley Tucci.
Kaas pointed to Ingrained by Callum Robinson as a "late-breaking hit" for the store, and added that the King Arthur Baking Company's Big Book of Bread has been great for the store. With the company's headquarters "right around the corner," Norwich Bookstore has been "shipping signed copies all around the country."
The supply chain, Kaas said, has been "okay so far." While stock is starting to dwindle on some major titles like The Serviceberry, the team ordered early, often, and in quantity, and the store has managed to keep stock on the shelves so far. For the moment, the only title that seems "totally down for the count" is Easy Weeknight Dinners by Emily Weinstein. Another issue has been some orders arriving a day or two later than expected, which hasn't been a huge problem yet, but could affect things "when we're really in crunch time."
Looking ahead, Kaas said that Christmas Day and the start of Hanukkah overlapping might lead to a "pretty busy time" the week prior, and the fact that Hanukkah continues into January might have an impact on the last week of December. At the same time, Kaas acknowledged some "subdued post-election emotions" in the community, as well as "no shortage of economic uncertainty," which could also play a role in how the season shapes up. Nevertheless, he reiterated his cautious optimism. "So far so good."
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In Sisters, Ore., Paulina Springs Books has had a good season so far, owner Lane Jacobson reported. There have been a few HVAC unit failures and roof leaks in the past couple weeks, and Jacobson is glad that they hit earlier in the season. Sales are running "just about even" with the 2023 holiday season so far, and Jacobson noted that the store had not yet completely entered "full holiday craziness," which typically starts around the end of the second week of December.
The bestselling title so far this season has been The Serviceberry, which Jacobson and his team "noted as a likely hit." They were fortunate to order big on it early, but even so, are already sold out.
Other big titles include The Life Impossible by Matt Haig, Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan, Tooth and Claw by Craig Johnson, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, James, Sandwich by Catherine Newman, and The Bear by Andrew Krivak, which he described as an "evergreen" backlist title. For kids, The Wild Robot by Peter Brown and Hot Mess by Jeff Kinney have done very well. Jacobson added that he's been handselling a lot of Orbital by Samantha Harvey, which he loved. So far, everything aside from The Serviceberry has been "easy enough" for the team to keep in stock.
While the store has had a "really strong year" and is fortunate to have a "little bit of cushion" heading into the holidays, Jacobson emphasized that there's no way to know how things will shake out before December 31. He and his team are optimistic that the late Hanukkah will help offset the late Thanksgiving, and, since Sisters is a tourist town, the week between Christmas and New Years is usually big.
"Considering the election, attitudes about the economy, and that many retailers in our town have been down 20%-plus on the year, we're not complaining," said Jacobson.
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For Trident Booksellers & Cafe in Boston, Mass., the season has been "solid so far," reported co-owner Courtney Flynn. The store is on par with last year's numbers, and as "those were hard to beat," the team will "be happy if we can match them."
While there hasn't been a single book-of-the-season, there have been a number of big titles. Some, like James, were expected, while others, like Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson, "caught us a bit off guard with huge initial sales in the first week." There have also been swift sales of Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, Orbital, The Vegetarian by Han Kang, and The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin. The store has sold out of The Serviceberry but is hoping to get restocked soon; other popular nonfiction titles include The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop and Want by Gillian Anderson.
"As happens every year," the bookstore finds itself "chasing the older titles" that have made it onto the New York Times 10 Best Books list, with Cold Crematorium by József Debreczeni (translated by Paul Olchváry), being the only title aside from The Serviceberry that the team has been unable to restock. Other than that, supply-chain issues have not been bad, though Flynn acknowledged that the real chasing doesn't usually start until the final 10 days before Christmas.
Considering the season overall, Flynn said she feels "cautiously optimistic." Despite the turmoil in the country this fall, "people are still excited about buying books, and more importantly, buying them in a bricks-and-mortar bookstore." People seem as willing to "get out and spend money for the holidays" as ever, and she expects the late Hanukkah to help with sales. --Alex Mutter
If you are interested in having your store appear in a future Holiday Hum article, please e-mail alex@shelf-awareness.com.