Jackson Heights Life

Are you kidding me? I dropped off a few bags of children's books like a year ago because I thought it would be great to go to others who could use them. I guess if some kids got them, thats great, but they would get more use if they could be borrowed over and over. Oh well.

I should have kept the books...sold them in my bookstore  :laugh:

If I had a store with both used and new books, maybe I would offer some sort of compensation for book donations. That will kill the library competition. That might sound a little mean now that I reread it, but the library will always be necessary for reference material and the other variety of services they offer.

As for the used book seller on 37th in front of Met, I would make him come work with me! I would not want to hurt his sales so maybe we could team up. 

Rs, have you already checked the previous bookstore thread? In it, Todd linked to this article about an independent bookstore opening in Fort Greene.

leoooog, yes I had checked out the previous thread. I read that article, and many like it. I just wanted to get a little poll going to get an actual count of who would like which kind of store. I didnt expect as many replies to the post though.

No, im pretty sure I would lock rowdy children in there. Maybe overnight.  hahaha im just kiddin!

I see 2 people voted that they would not shop at an independent bookstore. Im guessing they can find all their books online or from other sources. Or is there another reason? I wonder.

I'd love to open a bookstore, but the problem for me would be the issue of having browsers, which of course would be normal, but then how do you pay the rent which is so expensive.  The children would come in and read the books as my children always do and then would leave as we do when we go to Barnes and Noble.  We have been there for two and three hours just reading every book we can find.  Oh, YES WE HAVE, and then walked out with a $10 dollar item.  I'm sure many mommies and daddies on this site know what I'm talking about.  I would then have to contend with the guy that sells in front of Met food.  A dollar a book.  I would then have to contend with the adults that just want to hang out and look something up quickly and then run.  How would I pay the bills.  I would then get nuts, probably nuttier than I already am with all the kids that I have, and have to simply close down. 

But I was thinking that if those families out there that have a parent who stays at home with the kids and needs the outlet of being in the business world a few hours or days a week, has some capital and wants to invest money and the time, we could form a cooperative bookstore with community residents as shareholders and open up the bookstore and each would take turns with the business, etc.  That way there would be different energy, etc. and a group of owners/investors.  That would be the perfect idea in the perfect world.  JUST A THOUGHT.  ANY IDEAS?

This isn't an in-depth article, just a short blog post, but I thought you might find it interesting. Book Court Bookstore is expanding, increasing inventory and adding a cafe and bar.

A year later, her bookstore is finally opening in Ft. Greene: http://abookstoreinbrooklyn.blogspot.com/
Yes - I'd love to see a bookstore in JH too!

Very interesting story from Brooklyn...  A ambitious entrepreneur takes a risk on opening an independent bookstore in Fort Greene, and the community turns out to support her.


The New York Times
Big City: Dream of Bookstore Fights Any Number of Trends
By SUSAN DOMINUS
Published: September 18, 2008

After Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, 29, graduated from New York University with an English degree in 2001, she did what she was supposed to do, which was land a coveted job as an editorial assistant at a major publishing house.

She cried every day.

It wasn’t that Ms. Stockton Bagnulo did not love books enough. She loved them too much. Writing book-jacket copy from a cubicle, sorting files, “I felt so far from the things we were making,” she recalled.

Longing for the part-time job she had in college, at Three Lives, an independent bookstore in the West Village, Ms. Stockton Bagnulo returned to working there on weekends to cheer herself up. At some point she realized that graduate school in creative writing was not the answer (which was good, because she didn’t get in anywhere). “Gradually,” she said, “it dawned on me that the big, important thing I wanted to do was open a bookstore.”

(Follow link for complete article)