This post is authored by contributor, Teresa Bergen. Ms. Bergen is the author of the novel Killing The President, and in addition to writing, transcribes and edits oral histories, paints animal portraits, makes costume devil horns, teaches yoga, and plays bass in an indie rock band.
Despite dire recession-related shopping forecasts, Portlanders are still hitting the bookstores for holiday shopping. Reading Local surveyed some independent bookstores, and here are the results. But I must disclose, this survey was limited to A) those bookstores for which I managed to locate email addresses; and B) those who took the time to respond. Hopefully the rest were too busy selling books to answer. Or I might be in their spam folder until sometime in 2010.
According to Erin Donley of New Renaissance Books, “The first week of December was up from last year – but we are anticipating a MUCH better season due to last year’s Arctic Blast!” Broadway Books also reported running just slightly ahead of last year’s sales.
St. John’s Booksellers is having a harder time of it, so if you are in the neighborhood, swing by and buy something! Sales were down about 25 percent from last year for the first two weeks of December. “Part of the problem is that we have not had the budget to maintain as large an inventory of new books as we usually like to have,” wrote my correspondent from St. John’s. “Used books are selling, but are priced lower than new ones.”
In Other Words Women’s Books & Resources was unsure of what to expect regarding sales. “We did better this November than we did last year, but I expect our December sales to be less,” they wrote. “Last year we had a financial crisis at the end of the year which drew in a lot of customers.”
Green Bean Books, a child-focused bookstore on NE Alberta, just opened earlier this year. Jennifer from Greenbean wrote, “The holiday season is going better than I expected for my first season! I’m especially very busy on weekends!”
According to Michael from Annie Bloom Books, “It’s hard to tell how sales are yet. Last year, we had a spike after the election, but then sales (of course) plummeted during the snow storm. This year, sales were a little sluggish during the unseasonably sunny weather, but business has been picking up now that feels like a regular Portland winter out there.”
Each bookseller was kind enough to send me a list of their top selling books, and some additional suggestions for gifts. The reviews included with the New Renaissance list are by Donley, who manages the bookstore and writes New Renaissance’s weekly book review e-column. She also founded Marketing Your Truth.
St. John’s Bestsellers:
Skippyjon Jones, Lost In Spice (children’s series about a hyperactive kitten) by Judy Schachner
The Collector by Jack Nisbet
Remember: A Seasonal Journal by Nikki McClure (an artist from Olympia, WA)
Additional St. John’s Gift Ideas:
Portland Walls (book of postcards of Portland mural art) by Robin Dunitz
Sibley Guide to Trees by David Allen Sibley
New Renaissance Bestsellers:
Defy Gravity by Caroline Myss (New Renaissance Review)
Emotional Wisdom by Mantak Chia (New Renaissance Review)
Writing the Divine by Sara Wiseman (local author) (New Renaissance Review)
Tiger, Tiger, Is It True? by Byron Katie (children’s book) (New Renaissance Review)
Soulmate Secret by Arielle Ford
Practicing Peace In Times of War by Pema Chodron (New Renaissance Review)
The Vortex by Abraham Hicks (New Renaissance Review) -
Here is the link to Erin’s review archives.
Additional New Renaissance Gift Ideas:
Calendars (tons of non-mainstream types)
The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz
Broadway Books bestsellers:
Half The Sky by Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas Kristof
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The Big Burn by Jeanette Ingold
Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer
Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
The Guensey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
Open by Andre Agassi
The Opposite Field by Jesse Katz
Additional Broadway Books Gift Ideas:
Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller
The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray and Nick Mann
National Geographic Image Collection
Bird by Andrew Zuckerman
What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
Lit by Mary Karr
The Onion Front Pages
Yummy: Eight Favorite Fairy Tales by Lucy Cousins
Greenbean Books Bestsellers:
Picture Books-
The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompson
The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis
The Book that Eats People by John Perry
Chapter Books-
The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series’
The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo’s
Adult Books-
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Additional Greenbean Gift Ideas:
Night Before Christmas by Rachel Isadora
The Secret Plan by Julia Sarcone-Roach
A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
When You Reach Me by and Rebecca Stead
In Other Words Bestsellers:
Manifesta by Jennifer Baumgartner & Amy Richards
Grassroots by Jennifer Baumgartner & Amy Richards
All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant Illustrated by Nikki McClure (local)
Girls Are Not Chicks Coloring Book by Jacinta Bunnell and Julie Novak (for kids & adults)
We’Moon 2010 planners and Slingshot Organizers
Additional In Other Words Gift Ideas:
Girldrive by Nona Willis Aronowitz & Emma Bee Bernstein
Portland Companion Walks by Briar Levit (local)
Femmes of Power by Ulrika Dahl and Del LaGrace Volcano (local people in this book)
The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel
Annie Bloom Bestsellers:
Olive Kitteredge – Elizabeth Strout
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
Pretty Good Joke Book – Garrison Keillor
Rustic Fruit Desserts - Cory Schreiber and Julie Richardson
Mother’s Best Cookbook – Lisa Schroeder and Danielle Centoni
The Lacuna – Barbara Kingsolver
Stones into Schools – Greg Mortensen
Big Burn – Timothy Egan
Additional Annie Bloom’s Gift Ideas:
Bananagrams
Splendor in the Grass CD – Pink Martini
Chronic City – Jonathan Lethem
Too Much Happiness – Alice Munro
Good Soldiers – David Finkel
Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Timberline Lodge – Sarah Baker Munro (local)
Where Men Win Glory – Jon Krakauer
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