Still Buying Books in Phoenix

LJW Publishing's hometown paper, the East Valley Tribune, recently published a piece stating that during a slumping economy (like the present), people "don't have to buy books." But according to their own local research, area residents were still buying. The paper stated that "small business owners seem[ed] to be faring better than the 'big box' stores. Personalized service that provides more value to cash-strapped customers, knowing community likes and dislikes and having the flexibility to make and execute decisions on the spot give the small shops big clout in an increasingly difficult economy."

Two stores noted in the article were: Changing Hands Bookstore out of Tempe, AZ and the Poison Pen out of Scottsdale, AZ. Gayle Shanks, co-owner of Changing Hands Bookstore, mentioned that their used books sales were better than ever and paperback and gift item sales continue to increase.

At The Poisoned Pen bookshop in Scottsdale Barbara Peters described it as the "best summer in years." She attributes the steady growth during the sluggish economy to personal touch.

Books Continue to Thrive Regardless of Apocalyptic Predictions

"People have been painting apocalyptic scenarios for the last 10 years, but in the midst of a horrible environment, we sold more books than last year."--Barnes & Noble CEO Steve Riggio in a conference call with stock analysts yesterday, quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

Long term predictions of apocalyptic failure are often enough to impede the success of any industry or endeavor, but to make such predictions about books, something that has had a respected and sought after place in most societies since before the dawn of enlightened times, is obviously reaching a little too far.

This short post is an understated effort to applaud the place that books fill in the hearts, minds, and lives of all of us-whether we realize it or not.

I, for one, am more than relieved that books are apparently around to stay.

All Work and No Play...Makes Employees Angry All Day!

After reading this article titled "All Work and No Play is a Bad Idea Says Phone Giant" that was published by The Liverpool Daily Post and is available online for your reading pleasure HERE... I decided that it was absolutely related to Publishing because it's related to ALL work places.

We should all be so lucky to work in an environment that understands and encourages creativity and "play" so fully. I absolutely agree that the best ideas come when you're engaged in some sort of non-related activity! While I don't think we're ready to add on a "play room" as the company mentioned in the original article did, I think we just might be ready to encourage more bright ideas and clear thinking by encouraging our employees to enjoy a little bit of "play time" at work each day.

Bouncy balls and board games aside...we've already got books laying around on every surface. So that's the first step. But then that just might not count since that's definitely a part of the job! We'll have to conduct a survey to find out if reading "on the job" is as fun as reading "off the job!" Should be interesting to see the results of that one...