08/31/2026
Really, 250 books? Can we do it? I just don’t know.
I found this little horsetail trying to root in the asphalt behind the bookstore. It made me think about tenacious things that try to hold on in difficult places. I also found a bookstore, , that is very open with their people about what it takes for them to stay open. So I’m following their lead:
We need to sell 600 average new books per month, or their equivalent in used books and merch. So far in August, we’ve sold 352. That’s a huge gap.
We aren’t seeing much new foot traffic since the end of construction. Maybe it’s yet to come, but it hasn’t materialized. The new buildings around us have not fully sold or rented out. This location is not sustaining us. People come to events, and y’all have been amazing in emergencies, but the event ends or the emergency is weathered and then we slide back into the same rut.
And the more we shrink, the more we…shrink. Our orders take longer than they should to arrive, partly because we are ordering so few books that it takes longer for us to meet supplier freight minimums. We are often importing by to order, rather than maintaining stock of US publications; that adds delays. It’s a downward spiral dragging at us. And still the rent goes up every July.
I’ve been looking at alternate locations and not making much headway; less rent seems to equal even less foot traffic, even in smaller spaces. And I have strong views on abandoning people I care about, and who care about this place. So my job is to try to keep this little plant growing where it’s rooted.
Right now, that means we must sell 250 books in 48 hours to head off the next emergency. There are thousands of you, and thousands more of your friends, and some of you at least must need a book or two. Yalla! See you soon!
***rbookstore
