Booksellers Tally Up Holiday Season

Booksellers around the country had many tales to tell about their holiday sales, generally their peak selling period. Although reports varied, almost every bookseller contacted by BTW had a very good season, which they attributed to a combination of the "cocooning" of shoppers traumatized by the September attacks and the subsequent war; the appeal of substantial yet reasonably priced gifts in a recessionary economy; the discrepant urges of readers to escape through fantasy and fiction and to immerse themselves in books about terrorism and the Taliban; and the opening of several blockbuster movies based on books.

But a few booksellers had yet another factor confounding their holiday plans--extreme weather. Ask Jenny Stroyeck of the Homer Bookstore in Homer, Alaska, about the weather during the Christmas rush and her muscles tense. "It was dreadful. We anticipated that the 22nd and 23rd would be very busy [the start of school break]. During the night of the 21st, a horrid winter storm hit with winds over 50 miles an hour, horizontal rain and snow, and numerous trees blown down."

Stroyeck told BTW that she was not surprised that her power went out overnight because she lives in a rural area outside of town. "But I was very surprised to get to the bookstore right in the middle of downtown Homer the next morning to find the power off there as well…. A transformer had blown, affecting only part of one block. What do you do the weekend before Christmas? Unlock the door, put candles and oil lamps about, run and buy flashlights to hand out to customers, write purchases down by hand to enter in the computer later, and get out the old-fashioned knuckle-buster credit card machine."

The result was tremendous customer goodwill, and "Christmas Eve was our busiest day ever!" Stroyeck said.

No discussion of winter weather would be complete without mentioning Buffalo, New York, which received close to seven feet of snow during the five days beginning December 24. Fortunately for Jonathon Welch, co-owner of Talking Leaves and newly opened Talking Leaves II, the weather was mild with little snow up until Christmas Eve. "At which point we got a whole year's worth in five days," Welch told BTW. "We lost two full days of business since Christmas. Even though we did open both stores for various parts of the storm and driving ban, it wasn't easy for people to get to us. Those who could get to the stores were happy we were there. Folks get a little stir crazy when they're cooped up for too long." Welch reported strong sales, up over last year's, despite the snow.

On January 3, at the Literary Bookpost in Salisbury, North Carolina, where four inches of snow is enough to close businesses and schools, owner Deal Safrit sat in an empty bookstore, talking to BTW about the former crowds that made 2001 an "outstanding season." "This is our first snow in two years and downtown is deserted. We thought we might get some deliveries today, but no one is out. We'll close up soon." But the last 10 days of December were another story entirely, "We were up 37 percent over last year, and we carry nothing but books here. We were worried when things slowed down at the beginning of December but then sales really picked up. Customers were making smaller purchases, an average of $30 to $40, but we had more of them."

Other stores reporting particularly high sales figures included Ruth Heffron of Compass Rose Books in Castine, Maine. She told BTW that book sales were up by 30 percent over last year, total sales were up by 20 percent. Heffron has owned the store through one other holiday season. "From December 10 on it was a good month, with a big last minute rush on Christmas Eve," she said. Although Christmas Eve day was very cold and rainy, Heffron thought that may have boosted sales: "I think a lot of people who may have traveled an hour to the mall, stayed home and shopped with us. I do think generally there has been an increased loyalty both because people are getting to know us and because people are valuing their 'home' area more these days."

Valuing home was also important to customers of the children's bookstore Treehouse Readers in Kingwood, Texas, a northern suburb of Houston. According to owner Susan Kent, "Quite a few customers were more interested in the 'important' things in life like curling up with their child and a good book, rather than buying a zillion toys. This attitude helped us even though Christmas sales were down somewhat."

The year started out very strong, Kent told BTW, "We were up 28 percent for the first half of the year, and we were anticipating a great season. But then there were issues in the fourth quarter." Those issues included September 11, with the requisite author cancellations and damaging effect on Houston-based Continental Airlines. Many residents were laid off. Then came the remarkable downfall of Enron, also based in Houston, and a major employer. Despite these factors, Treehouse Readers ended the year on par with last year and high hopes for 2002.

At Eight Cousins, also a children's bookstore, in Falmouth, Massachusetts, sales were up by seven percent and the customer count was up 14 percent over last December, owner Carol Chittenden told BTW. Chittenden didn't perceive any impact of September 11 on customers, but the spirit of giving and helping others seemed greater than ever. "Our customers were incredibly generous with our Giving Tree, which provided books for 400 local children this year. Cash donations over and above the direct purchases will allow us to give kids birthday books, and to start a bookshelf in the local food pantry," Chittenden said.

Several booksellers in California, Oregon, and Washington contacted by BTW reported that sales were up for holiday 2001. Diane Campbell, co-owner of Paulina Springs Book Company in Sisters, Oregon, reported that the store was up 2.5 percent for the holiday season, and up about 6.5 percent for the year. Cindy Mitchell, co-owner of Queen Anne Avenue Books in Seattle said the store had done "better than anticipated," and Alzada Forbes, owner of The Avid Reader in Davis, California, told BTW that December was up slightly over 2000 and that the holiday period of November/December "was up about five percent."

Echoing the experience of other booksellers, Campbell noted, "It felt quieter. I really believe we had fewer people, but that people spent a lot more when they were in." Booksellers noted that author events in late November and early December helped generate both in-store traffic and sales. Paulina Springs hosted an event on the Friday after Thanksgiving for Satellite Sisters' UnCommon Senses that featured two of the Dolan sisters. Queen Anne Avenue Books also organized a Black Friday authors' event for five local authors, including Michael Collins, author of The Keepers of Truth; and G.M. Ford, author of Fury. Traffic was up at Queen Anne, and Mitchell said, "People purchased in volume, and we just think books were a big gift this year."

Cathy Langer of the Tattered Cover in Denver, Colorado, told BTW of good sales particularly of books mentioned on an NPR segment featuring independent booksellers hosted by Susan Stamberg. "Those titles just flew … especially Earth From Above 365 Days. Wow." She also mentioned strong interest in September 11 commemorative books and the store's inability to keep them in stock.

Book Sense 76 titles were frequently mentioned among the top sellers at stores contacted. Since Treehouse Readers is a children's bookstore, Kent has used the adult 76 lists as the store's "source for great adult titles. Our adult bestsellers are all 76 picks. We also use everything in the white boxes for displays and handouts."

Chittenden at Eight Cousins also had great success this season with the 76 adult picks. "The whole staff is mad for Peace Like a River (thanks to Harper, which sent us a preview audio copy) so the 22 copies we sold in December were gravy for us." John Adams (59 to date), and The Corrections (12 to date) were also continuing hits for the store.

Langer at Tattered Cover mentioned strong sales on 76 picks, Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper, Ella Minnow Pea, Falling Angels, and Any Small Thing Can Save You. Langer noted that "City of Dreams certainly benefited. The Book of Fred, Embers, The Nautical Chart, and The Good German were heavy staff favorites and sold very well. We have a good-sized area that is heavily browsed, where we face out every 76 pick and Book Sense bestseller. When a customer asks me for a bestseller list, I take them to the display."

The popularity of the works of J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien held steady, even spiking some during the holidays, particularly for all works by or about Tolkien.

Chittenden spotted a possible move back to the classics by children, noting that How the Grinch Stole Christmas sold in Latin, but not English.

-Nomi Schwartz, with reporting by Molly Sackler, Elizabeth Fabian, and Dan Cullen