2004 Marks Two Year Anniversary

February has arrived and Valentine's Day is upon us. It's a double celebration at Book Lovers since 2004 also marks our two-year anniversary.

During our recent trip to the Romantic Times Convention in Kansas City this past fall, we had the opportunity to meet with other new/used bookstore owners and to learn quite a bit about the business, how other stores are operated, about their policies and practices, and share experiences.

It was an chance to shape our future, evaluate what we're doing right or wrong, make decisions, changes and determine what we can do to ensure that Book Lovers continues to be successful.

In the changing bookstore and publishing market, continuous improvement and keeping up with market trends are goals that will keep us in business with a consistently growing, loyal and happy customer base.

We're sure you've noticed that we have consistently made changes and improvements over the past 2 years with both the business and our customer's interest in mind. Some of the changes we've made are:

• A larger selection of current hardcover rental books
• an increased volume of both new and used paperbacks
• a permanent sale/clearance section
• the newly expanded paranormal/fantasy area
• more spinners with just the most current books on them
• Book Lover reviews and "picks" both online and in the store
• changed store hours
• a variety of gift items, contests, prizes/basket giveaways
• and much more!

2004 at Book Lovers

We're hoping to get our readers involved in special events this coming year. Thus far, we haven't had luck getting you interested and participating -- but we're NOT giving up on you! 2004 is going to be a great opportunity to get involved, meet some fellow readers, share/learn and have some FUN!

One of best experiences we had in Kansas was getting to meet some of our favorite authors. This year, we're going to sponsor a few author book signings. We'll let you know who and when as soon as we can. There are so many local authors within our reach who are willing and eager to meet readers! It would be great to have a nice turnout when they come in.

Book Clubs...we KNOW there are readers out there who want to share their experiences and talk BOOKS! We're looking for input on what you want to read and talk about. It absolutely won't be an Oprah-type book club with somber deep reading...just something light and hopefully fun. The group picks a book, everyone reads it and once a month we meet for coffee/tea and talk...about the author, the story line, whether it was good or bad, if the characters were real and interesting, if it's a book we would recommend to a friend, etc. We're not taking about doing a book report...just a group of friends chatting about BOOKS.

Some other ideas we're kicking around. We're looking at an after-school reading club for middle school students, story hour for younger children, a special teacher's month, a day for seniors to get a little bit extra, and much more.

Credit changes which will benefit you as well as enhance our ability to provide better customer service. Beginning March 1, you will receive 20% credit on pre-read paperback books published in the current month and up to 3 months after publisher's sale date. You'll receive 15% credit on books more than 3 months old. The rest of our policies and guidelines regarding what books we accept, date, condition, etc. will remain the same.

You'll see a cash-only/no credit section in the store. There, you'll find books that were released within the month, as well as books by a few of the very popular authors. (Some books will remain cash-only for up to three months, others longer.) Though you won't be able to use your credit, you will be still able to purchase the books at half price. Also, you'll be receiving a higher percentage of credit when you return them to Book Lovers.

Why the changes? We spend a great deal of time searching for new inventory and books that are in high demand. As soon as we put the books out, they sell. Customers use their credit and purchase the book at a quarter of the cover price. That's great, but unfortunately, we're not seeing the books again. Since we're in the business of resale, it's important that we're able to satisfy our other customers who are waiting for those same books.

We're finding that customers keep their books long after they're released, then bring them in for credit months later. Now, if they bring them in sooner, they will receive more credit. Other customers waiting for the same books will have access to them sooner. The new policy will hopefully encourage customers to return our books as well as new books purchased from other stores quickly, providing you with greater selection and turn-over.

This year we're hoping to get our online shopping site up and running. This virtual bookstore will have policies and guidelines separate from the store; but might be of interest to those of you who summer or winter elsewhere or have family/friends who don't have access to discount bookstores or in situations where you just can't physically get to the store.

2004 will be an exciting year for us. Watch for special events at Book Lovers. Reading is an important part of your life--share the excitement with others by participating in the many "reading events" at Book Lovers.

Got the Luck of the Irish? If you haven’t won in the past, maybe this will be it! The March giveaway basket is full of "green" treats in keeping with the holiday and will feature Sherilyn Kenyon’s, Dark Hunter books (she’s also known as Kinley MacGregor). May the Luck of the Irish be with you! Stop by to enter as many times as you wish. The WINNER will be notified on Wednesday, March 31.

Book Lover Picks o’ the Month Patricia Potter, Cold Target This was a new author for me. The storyline was solid, great mystery wrapped around the old theme of family secrets. Some family secrets can be deadly! I liked the characters, the romantic twists and turns and the good solid story telling that Ms. Potter weaves. Highly recommended for mystery and romantic suspense fans! -Cheryl

Something to Look Forward to... March releases in paperback: Gone Too Far, Suzanne Brockmann Dead Aim, Iris Johansen Home Before Dark, Susan Wiggs Out of the Blue, JoAnn Ross

Diane Chamberlain, Kiss River Another first time read with this author. A story within a story, both equally intriguing. Full of likeable characters. Not necessarily written as a "suspense" but full of secrets, missing pieces. The urge to skip to the last few chapters to resolve the open issues was almost irresistible! (I’m embarrassed to admit that was up until 3:00 in the morning reading to find out how it ended.) Very enjoyable!! -Donna

Paranormal / Fantasy
--much more than ghosts, vampires and time travel

Something interesting we witnessed first hand at the convention as well as seeing for ourselves based on our readers is that Paranormal / Fantasy is the newest trend.

It's not the same old same, ol' that we're used to. The genre now encompasses fairy tales, contemporary vampire/werewolf, gods/goddesses, etc.

Hey, stop frowning and wrinkling your nose! There's a whole new line of fascinating and interesting books available if you're willing to experiment and be open to something new.

You'll find that some of your favorite authors are branching out (sometimes writing under different names). They’re tired of writing the same old tired stories within "real" life boundaries. In this genre, they can be incredibly creative, inventing stories about mermaids, mermen, elves, silkies, shape shifters, telepaths, fairies, and wide variety of other creatures.

You'll find the same romance, mystery, excitement, relationships but within new imaginative worlds.

Happy Valentine’s & Saint Patrick’s Days.
Thank you for your business over the past few years!

Book Lovers, 1101 State Road, Westport, MA 02790     Phone 508.676.6996     www.bookloversonline.com