Archive for May, 2008

May Newsletter


Store News
The renovation is going great, and we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The main shelving for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section is complete, and looks great. We’re working on the fiction section, and are adding 50% more (much needed!) shelves for books.

It is a very slow process, but definitely worth the effort.


The Website
The revamped website is pretty much done, and looks great. We’ve already had quite a few customers utilize the online inventory, and had us deliver online books to the store for pick-up.

The blog is also up and running. I wish I could say that I’ve been updating it daily, but there IS already quite a bit of good stuff on there, so make sure to check it out.


Terry On Books
Our own Terry Stillman has also decided to dive into the world of Blogging He is an excellent writer, and even wrote a story on our (all too brief!) store cat, Eco. Here is an exerpt:

Eco

The cat in the photo has been named “Eco” after Umberto Eco, and he has recently accepted the position of Bookstore Cat-or Cat-in-Residence-at the Jolly Olde Bookstore in Port Moody, British Columbia.

Eco turned up at the backdoor of the bookstore about three weeks ago, looking for something to eat and a place to crash. Brian, the owner, and his fiancee , Tracy, took to the cat right away, and Eco (as they named him) settled right in. Eco had a tattoo in his ear so they thought someone was probably missing him. Brian and Tracy found Eco’s vet who had a phone number for his owners. Unfortunately, the number was out-of-service so the owners had probably moved. In a way, this was good news because Eco had decided that the bookstore was a good gig.

Today, a flyer was pushed through the mailslot with the picture of a lost cat on it-a cat named “Bo”, who looked a lot like Eco. Part way through the day, Bo’s owner showed up to claim him. Sure enough, the family had moved, but not too far. Someone had seen one of the flyers they had posted and phoned to tell the owners they thought their cat was at the bookstore. Tonight, Brian and Tracy are saying good-bye to Eco and they’ll be handing him over to his owners who have had Eco (Bo) for about five years. Tears on both sides.

So, Eco’s position as Bookstore Cat was short-lived. Too bad, he seemed a Natural. What do you think about Bookstore Cats? Good idea or bad idea? Do you like shopping in a bookstore that has a cat? If you own a bookstore, does a cat live there? Or do you prefer to have your cat live at home?

To read the entire blog visit: http://www.stillmanbooks.com/terryonbooksblog/

So what is a Number Line Anyways?

The Number Line is a fairly new method of indicating the edition status of a book. This method shows a line of numbers on the copyright page, usually between 10 and 1. The sequence of the numbers varies between publishers but the basic principal remains the same – a first issue-edition-impression requires the presence of the number 1.For example 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 indicates a first printing. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 would indicate a second printing and so forth.

Of course, some publishers LOVE to confuse people, so they use LETTERS. If the sequence of letters ends with an ‘a’, it is a first printing. A ‘b’ is a 2nd, andso forth.

Now RANDOM HOUSE really love to mess with people. Their first printings end with a 2. Instead of the 1 they state “First Edition”.

Make sure you check for a price in the dustjacket, because you may still actually have a Book Club edition.

But I’ll get into THAT one next time…