Chapter 269 Refreshed, Or, October 2008 Business Priorities

I was tired at the end of last week. Rare Book School combined with two book fairs combined with the whirlwind change of schedule that is the first month of school for Tom and Huck all conspired to make me more than a little fatigued.

After neglecting bookselling duties at the end of last week and over the weekend, I feel a bit more refreshed and ready to tackle the tasks at hand. A bookman’s holiday is just what I needed. I stayed home and celebrated some birthdays and read some books in between Tom and Huck’s soccer games. It was better than a vacation; it was heaven. Here’s what’s on deck for the coming month of October:

* Input sales and business contacts into BookHound from the Santa Monica Book Fair. (I know; I am dreadfully behind).

* Ditto for the Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair.

*Catalogue new acquisitions from book fairs. There is nearly a whole box full of them.

* Find a desktop publishing person to get this Dante catalogue ready for a printer. The catalogue is all written; it’s the layout that’s holding me back. Well, that and four more new acquisitions that fit the catalogue perfectly. After messing with layout for the past three months, I am going to hand that part off to someone else if the cost isn’t too prohibitive. I figure it will cost me more in time and sanity to keep messing with it and never achieve the state of satisfaction I hope to have. I probably should have figured that out months ago, but, being a rookie, I just kept trying. I now realize that it is probably more productive for me to spend time on buying books, researching them, pricing them, and writing the catalogue than it is to learn computer science/desktop publishing. Still, I really would like to add the layout skills to my bookseller’s arsenal someday. However, if I don’t complete the catalogue and get it in the mail, I won’t be a bookseller much longer. So, finding a person to assist with layout seems the best investment of my time and money at this point.

* Blog posts to come this week on my _0th birthday, one year of blogging, and nearly two years in the antiquarian book trade. Other posts on fall reading lists and fall cleaning lists. And new acquisitions.

I’m off to enjoy another cup of Earl Grey tea and a scone and to get down to work. Have a great Monday!

See you in the stacks!

Chapter 268 A Bookman’s Holiday — I Need One of These

It hit me like a ton of bricks today.

I am tired. Really tired. I almost fell asleep proofreading Tom’s English homework this evening.

The first month of school is always an extra busy one, with a return to school schedules, sports practices and games, music lessons, and homework. It takes a few weeks to adjust to the full schedule. Additionally, our school has its annual fall carnival, a big weekend-long celebration (at which parents volunteer) in September. Throw in Huck’s 8th birthday, my _0th birthday, and two book fairs in the same month, and I am having a great time but I am in desperate need of a nap.

I’m not trying to complain, as I enjoy all of these activities and like a full life. Even so, I need to try to maintain a bit of balance as we head into October. Please excuse me while I take a little blogging break and a long nap until Monday. I promise you’ll find me a bit more refreshed when I come back.

See you in my dreams!

Chapter 267 Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair, Part II

Click here to read Part I.

About 10 minutes before the doors of the book fair opened to the public, I was at the back of the exhibit hall making a purchase from another bookseller. I was not wearing a watch and did not know what time it was. Over the P.A. system, fair organizer Jim Kay said, “The doors are now open and there’s nobody here. I tried my best to publicize the fair, and I hope somebody will show up soon.”

I am still enough of a rookie bookseller to take statements like this seriously. I quickly wrapped up my transaction and hurried back to my booth, which was at the front of the main room. Every time I had had the thought, “What if no one buys any of my books?” it had never occurred to me that there might be so few fair attendees that there would be no one to buy any books from anyone.

When I got back to the booth, I checked my cell phone and saw that the time was only 9:55 a.m., a full five minutes before the fair’s opening. The joke was definitely on me.

As if in a dream, the doors opened at 10:00 a.m. to plenty of fairgoers. By my estimation there were about as many people as at last year’s fair and it seemed as if there were more people than had been at the Santa Monica Book Fair a few weeks ago. My shared booth with Carpe Diem Fine Books was filled with a few buyers and many interested browsers. I sold books of all kinds, including early children’s books about space, a Nuremberg Chronicle leaf, an illuminated manuscript leaf, and an 1852 letter from a California miner to his wife.

I also bought a few fun things. Another post to come on that later.

The fair passed quickly, and as I sold books to dealers and customers alike, I lost all sense of time. I talked to bibliophiles, book binders, and booksellers, including one who gave me very good advice about finally completing my Dante catalogue — take the time to get it right. Before I knew, it was 5:00 p.m. and time to break down the booth.

I love to prepare for book fairs and to set up my booth, but I really dislike dismantling the booth and packing boxes and bookcases for the ride home. Thanks to James from Carpe Diem Fine Books I had plenty of help actually moving the boxes from the exhibit hall to the bookmobile. I was tired by this time, but not too tired to eat a good dinner with some of my fellow booksellers again (though we missed you, Stephanie!). After dinner, I returned to my hotel and had some chocolate!

Now for the bad news: I can’t believe I did this, but I forgot to take my camera with me. My mentor, Mr. Z. sold books at the fair as well, and he took a photo with his cell phone and sent it to my cell phone. Technophobe that I am, I can’t figure out how to get the picture from my cell phone onto my computer. When I do figure it out, I’ll post it here!

To all who have sent an email in the past few days and not received a response, I am swamped with both book and family responsibilities at the moment. Traveling to book classes or book fairs three times in the past six weeks has taken its toll, and I desperately need to get caught up. Please accept my apologies if I don’t respond to your comments right away.

Chapter 266 The Second Time Around, Or, Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair Redux

I left the house Friday filled with excitement, wondering how my second time at the Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair would be different from the first time. About a year ago, I exhibited at this fair; it was the first book fair where I attended as a seller and not just as a buyer. As such, that fair holds a special place in my heart. I wrote about that experience last year. It was the first time I felt like a “real” bookseller and not just a person selling books from a computer at her dining room table, and I loved it.

This year I had the same worries I had last year: “What if no one buys any of my books?” and “What if I can’t remember the sales tax rate for Sacramento?” I also had new worries: “What if I don’t do as well as I did last year?” “Does a book fair with poor sales mean I won’t be a successful bookseller?” And, “Did I remember to pack the chocolate?”

I arrived just in time for the start of set-up and saw that many of the same booksellers from last year were at the fair this year. It was a relief to have already met most of them last year. I was still the newest bookseller at the fair, but I was not a completely unknown entity. Being known well enough to able to ask a fellow bookseller for an extra bookstand or screwdriver is a comforting thing. Being known well enough to be offered a few books in my specialties (Dante and Western Americana) by other booksellers upon my arrival at the fair was great.

After setting up my shared booth with Carpe Diem Fine Books, ABAA, we gathered a couple of other booksellers (Brian Cassidy, Bookseller, ABAA and Tavistock Books, ABAA) and went out to a delicious pre-fair dinner. We celebrated being together again and toasted to what we hoped would be a good fair.

Saturday morning came quickly. I woke up reminding myself of the Sacramento sales tax rate (7.75%) and wondering which books I would sell that day.

This year, Jim Kay, a bookseller and the fair organizer, added about twelve more dealers to the fair, bring the total to about 62 booksellers. It was a packed hall. At 10:00 a.m. the doors opened to the public.

To Be Continued tomorrow . . .

Chapter 265 A Delightful Weekend

I’ve returned from the Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair. It was a great fair, complete with losts of selling, lots of buying, and plenty of bookseller camaraderie. What a delightful weekend!

As usual, my house is in bit of chaos from the bookcases and boxes I just unloaded. I promise a full update either late Monday or very early Tuesday!

Chapter 264 Looks Like We’ll Have to Dine Out Tonight

I’m in the final hours of preparation for the Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair, as evidenced by the pictures below:

Most days, I clean all of my book work off the dining room table around 3:00 p.m., when it’s time for Tom and Huck to get home from school. Then they can sit at the table and eat snacks and study. Then we can eat dinner at the table. Having to clean up my mess every day forces me to stay organized.

Not today.

Today it’s the day before a book fair. It’s also the day Tom has a two-hour soccer practice and Huck has an art lesson. It’s now 6:15 p.m. and I’m nowhere near done preparing for this fair because I keep leaving the house to drive kids around to their various activities. Between the boxes covering the living room floor and the books covering the dining room table, it looks like we’ll have to dine out tonight. Not a bad end to a very busy day.

See you at the fair!

Chapter 263 Yet One More New Acquisition, Or, I’m Really Busy This Week

I had to have this book for its cautionary California Gold Rush theme and for its great title, cover, and glittery spine:

I’ve lots more to write about, but I don’t think I’m going to get to it before I leave for the Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair on Friday morning. For now, please enjoy the pretty pictures!

Chapter 262 Another New Acquisition

You can probably tell by the finds I’ve been posting from the Santa Monica Book Fair that I was sucked into the swirling vortex of the ephemera dealer’s booth at the fair. I don’t sell much ephemera, but the items I recently acquired really caught my eye.

Above is another find from the fair. It’s a cookbook and fashion book put out for “the average housewife” by San Francisco’s Roxie Theater in 1936. It features photos of and recipes by stars such as Shirley Temple (Mammy’s Pecan Squares), Bing Crosby (Norwegian Sturgeon), Fred Astair (Lemon Pie Meringue)and Ginger Rogers (Pimento Salad a la Parisian), George Burns (Beefsteak Pie) and Gracie Allen (Carmel Rhubarb Pie), Carole Lombard (Angels on Horseback), Gloria Stuart (Jellied Fruit Salad), James Cagney (Cold Ham with Egg Salad), Barbara Stanwyck (Cheese Cake Delight), Gary Cooper (English Stuffing for Goose), Mae West (Spiced Cheese Mould), and Jack Benny (Southern Fried Chicken).

The fashion portion of the book features stars in fabulous clothes that the “average housewife” should aspire to have in her closet: black velvet suit for the cocktail hour, whole sables, sleek satin sheaths, and a casual frock. Whole sables? Suits for the cocktail hour? Well, the book was published in San Francisco in the 1930s. My Nana who lived in The City during that time used to call it “The City that Knows How”. If that’s what the average housewife was wearing, it certainly did.

It’s a fun piece!

As you have likely guessed, I am still working on fair preparations today.

Chapter 261 Another Santa Monica Fair Find

Since I was talking about autumn and the start of school in yesterday’s post, I thought I’d show you another find from the recent Santa Monica Book Fair. The sweet cut-outs of jump-roping girls remind me of playground games at school and autumn. I was also drawn to it because it was printed by San Francisco’s Porpoise Book Shop in 1954. When I’m away from home in Southern California, as I was during the Santa Monica Book Fair, I find anything from Northern California appealing.

Off to prepare for the book fair. Have a great day!

Chapter 260 A Time to Sell Books, or Book Fair Season

Seems like autumn is book fair season. As a student and as a teacher, I loved autumn; now, as a parent of school-aged children, I still think of the start of school in September as the beginning of a new year.

As a bookseller, I am as happy as the school child buying new school supplies. I have freshly sharpened pencils for gently marking prices in books. I have a “Book Fair Preparation” binder, where I keep my fair correspondence and contracts. I experience the joy of seeing and meeting some of my colleagues in person at the fairs. I get the opportunity to hand-sell some books, a wondrous feeling unmatched in the repertoire of feelings universally experienced by booksellers. Book fair season means it’s time to sell books.

It’s also time to prepare for another book fair this week, the Central Valley Antiquarian Book Fair, to be held in Sacramento, CA. If you’d like a free pass, please leave a comment below and I will send you one via email. Hope to see you there!

Another book fair?

That means it’s time to research and price the new acquisitions from Santa Monica. I also managed to slip out for the last hour of the last day of my favorite library sale today and bought a few more books there.

That means it’s time work on the test shelves again.

That means it’s time to finish removing from inventory books sold at Santa Monica last week.

That means it’s time to ship out a couple of orders.

That means it’s time to start fantasizing about the “free time” I’ll have to print my catalogue when
these back-to-back fairs have ended.

I realized today that I have been so pre-occupied with book fairs this month that I did not make a list of September business priorities. You have probably already guessed (correctly) that the biggest priorities this month are the two book fairs. One fair down. One to go. I also owe an article to BookThink this week. Combined with the advent of school for Tom and Huck and the start of soccer season, I’ll be lucky to get anything else done.

Hope to see you at the fair!