Blue Plate Blog

Third Annual Shenandoah Book Festival

Tue, 4 Jan 2011 21:56:12 -0500

If you love books and are interested in Civil War history, you will not want to miss the Shenandoah Valley Book Festival! In recognition of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, this year’s event at the MSV will focus on the Civil War in print.

10:30 A.M.
BOOK EVALUATION SESSION
Do you have a book that was published during the Civil War or a book about the Civil War that you think might be rare? Find out from experts Lorne Bair, owner of Lorne Bair Rare Books and chairman of the Southeastern Division of the American Antiquarian Booksellers Association, and Pat Saine, owner of Winchester’s Blue Plate Books in this evaluation session.

Evaluators will discuss the books lecture-style and all are welcome to attend. Preregistration is required; call 540-662-1473, ext. 219, or email acansler@ShenandoahMuseum.org

1:30 P.M. LECTURE
“STONEWALL JACKSON’S VICTORIES IN THE VALLEY:
MILITARY GENIUS OR GOOD FORTUNE?”
This illustrated program by award-winning author and historian Peter
Cozzens will discuss the legendary 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign conducted by Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson.

Peter Cozzens is the author of 16 critically acclaimed books on
the American Civil War and the Indian Wars of the American West. Limited seating is first-come, first-served.

2:45 P.M. PANEL DISCUSSION
“GETTING YOUR CIVIL WAR STORY PUBLISHED”
Aimed at demystifying the publication process, this interactive discussion will be led by John J. Fox III, historian, author, and owner of Angle Valley Press in Winchester, Virginia, and Mary Goundrey Koik, editor of the Civil War Preservation Trust publication Hallowed Ground.

This Program is FREE to MSV Members.
Non-Members: $8, $6 senior/youth (includes gallery admission)
Snow date: January 29, 2011

10 Reasons E-Books Won't Kill Real Books

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:22:25 -0400

In the 1930's, we were promised personal jet packs. In the 50's, we were told that classroom teachers would disappear: televisions would soon replace the persnickety Mrs. Hacksanstax at the front of the room. Sixty years - and many broken technological promises later - we are being told that e-books will replace real books. Here's 10 reasons why I don't think so.

1. Paper books are real books. E-books are just temporary software. E-books won't fill my library's shelves. A house isn't a home without at least one bookshelf - a shelf full of old friends.

2. How many electronic gadgets would you take with you to a desert island? Batteries? Chargers? Cords? Error codes? I just want to turn the page and lose myself in this book.

3. Reading a book on a computer screen tires my eyes. Reading real books relaxes me. Wandering peacefully while browsing a bookstore is so much more uplifting than poking around on a computer screen.

4. Telling stories and creating books is a distinctly human endeavor. E-books, like computers, are inherently de-humanizing. Have you ever seen a signed e-book? How many fine, hand crafted, leather covered E-books have you seen? What makes your E-book unique?

5. Many people feel guilty throwing away a real book. Our collective society frowns on destroying books - maybe because it symbolizes hiding information and narrowing our collective consciousness. But E-books are just containers of fugitive electrons, waiting and ready to be dispersed on a whim. You can't hide a subversive E-book: Big Brother can 'Delete' with a simple keystroke.

6. Radio didn't kill the movies. TV didn't silence our radios. The Internet didn't destroy our TVs. I still enjoy movies in the theater, at home from a rented/borrowed DVD, downloaded from the web, and on my iPhone. E-books are just another option. E-books won't kill real books, they'll just fracture the market.

Yes, I know that downloads and MP3s killed the music industry. But the music industry trained us to change formats frequently (records, piano rolls, wire, reel-to-reel, Elcaset, 8 tracks, cassette tapes, CD, MD, DCC - to name a few). Books have been around in their current codex format for close to two millennia. Real books won't disappear anytime soon.

7. For the casual reader, E-book economics just don't make sense. First I need to purchase a reader for $200. or more, and then download a file for about $10.00. I'd much rather head to my neighborhood used bookstore and purchase a paperback for $5.00.

8. How can I share (my expensive and fragile) E-book with my friends? It's much more personable to hand them the paper copy I just read. And with e-books, no more leaving your just finished paperback on the park bench for someone else to discover.

9. Gadgets are functional. Real books can be beautiful. Real books can be bound in fine leather, they can be decorated with elegant engravings. They can be illustrated with beautiful rotogravures or with carefully tipped in photographs. E-books replace these very human visual and tactile pleasures with pixelated JPEGs on anonymous screens.

10. E-books (and their variously formatted and therefore incompatible readers) are here today, gone tomorrow. Have you ever held an old book in your hand and thought about all of the others who have touched and savored and hated and loved that book since its publication? Real books can last lifetimes.

Respectfully submitted by
Pat Saine, Proprietor of Blue Plate Books

Book–A–Ganza!

Tue, 2 Mar 2010 11:28:58 -0500

We’re celebrating books with our other local book friends at The Museum of the Shenandoah Valley on Saturday April 17. The schedule below is followed by web links from interested parties.

10:30 A.M.: “BOOK COLLECTING 101”
Learn about the vocabulary, practicalities, and theory
of collecting books in this panel discussion that includes
Patrick Saine, owner of Winchester’s Blue Plate Books;
Lorne Bair, owner of Lorne Bair Rare Books; and David
Gray, director of learning resources of Lord Fairfax
Community College Library Information and Services.

11:30 A.M.: BOOK APPRAISAL SESSION
Registrants may bring one book to be appraised. Limited space is available. Sign up for book appraisal time slots begins at 10 a.m.

1 P.M.: “THE CARE OF BOOKS”
Get practical advice on how to keep your book collection in the
best condition possible, and learn how to store and care for your
books in this discussion with Jill Deiss, owner of Cat Tail Run
Hand Bookbinding; Trish Ridgeway, director of the Handley
Regional Library; and Byron C. Smith, director & curator of the
Newtown History Center.
 SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2010 10:30 A.M.–2 P.M.
901 Amherst Street, Winchester, Virginia
540-662-1473, ext. 235

FREE to MSV Members; All others: $8, $6 senior/youth
(includes gallery admission, panel discussions, and book appraisal)

Related Links

Museum of the Shenadoah Valley

Lorne Bair Rare Books

Lord Fairfax Community College

Cat Tail Run Hand Bookbinding

Handley Regional Library

Newtown History Center

The Brain vs. E-Books

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:52:06 -0400

Probably the best commentary that I’ve read on the new role of e-books as information delivery devices was published on the NYT website yesterday. The link for the full story is directly below. A few pithy sentences from the experts involved complete the entry....
Does the Brain Like E-Books?
New York Times: Room for Debate Oct 14, 2009
A New Metaphor for Reading by Alan Liu
“.... Right now, networked digital media do a poor job of balancing focal and peripheral attention. ....”

A Test of Character by Sandra Aamodt
“.... Still, people read more slowly on screen, by as much as 20-30 percent. Fifteen or 20 years ago, electronic reading also impaired comprehension compared to paper, but those differences have faded in recent studies. ....”

Beyond Decoding Words by Maryanne Wolf
“.... No one really knows the ultimate effects of an immersion in a digital medium on the young developing brain. ....”

The Book Made Better by David Gelernter
“.... So long as books are cheap, tough, easy to “read” from outside (What kind of book is this? How long is it? Is this the one I was reading last week? Let’s flip to the pictures), easy to mark up, rated for safe operation from beaches to polar wastes and — above all — beautiful, they will remain the best of all word-delivery vehicles. ....”

The Effects of Perpetual Distraction by Gloria Mark
“.... My own research shows that people are continually distracted when working with digital information. ....”

Our Increasing Selection!

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:16:46 -0400

The following paragraph is from this morning’s Shelf Awareness: Daily Enlightenment for the Book Trade:
“In a sign of how the lousy economy is affecting inventory control, many general retailers are cutting back on what used to be "an ever-expanding array of products in different brands, sizes, colors, flavors, fragrances and prices," the Wall Street Journal reported. Among examples: "Walgreen Co. is cutting the types of superglues it carries to 11 from 25. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has decided that 24 different tape measures is 20 too many. Kroger Co. has tested stripping out about 30% of its cereal varieties." In all, the assortment of products in general retail stores is expected to fall 15%.
I wanted to let you know that here at Blue Plate Books, we are committed to increasing our selection! We buy good books everyday. We’ll buy the latest best sellers as well as older books (our oldest book was dated 1641!). We buy both hardcover and soft cover books. We like to keep our shelves fresh. We make a conscious effort to select unique and interesting stock.
So here’s to an old fashioned way of doing business: providing a great selection. You never know what you’ll find in a used bookstore!

"How Intolerable Life Would Be Without Books and Bookshops"

Tue, 26 May 2009 12:10:18 -0400

As fellow booklovers, I thought you'd enjoy reading Andrew Marr's essay that ran in the Guardian this past Sunday (May 24th). My favorite quote:

"Life without papers and pubs is an intolerable prospect. Would there be any point in leaving home at all
if bookshops went too?"

Click Here to Read The Original Essay at

www.guardian.co.uk

Winchester Book-A-Ganza

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 12:18:26 -0400

A full day of book-loving fun!
Saturday April 25

What When Where
Book Appraisals 10:30am - 1pm Blue Plate Books
Lorne Bair Books
www.LorneBair.com
$5./item appraised. Proceeds to Handley Library

Bookbinding Demos
Cat Tail Run Bookbindery 10:30am - 12:30pm Blue Plate Books &
www.CatTailRun.com The Books Shelf

Bookbinding Demos
Cat Tail Run Bookbindery 1:30pm - 4pm Winchester Book Gallery
www.CatTailRun.com

Locations
Blue Plate Books Winchester Book Gallery The Book Shelf
2261 Valley Ave. 185 N. Loudon St. 106 Featherbed Lane
Winchester Winchester Winchester
540-662-6657 540-667-3444 540-665-0866

Year’s Oddest Title Prize

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:03:24 -0400

The book title: “The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-Milligram Containers of Fromage Frais” beat out such formidable contenders as “Curbside Consultation of the Colon” and “A Pictorial Book of Tongue Coatings” as well as “Waterproofing Your Child” for the annual Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year, sponsored by The Bookseller magazine.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

10 Commandments of Book Giving

Sun, 7 Dec 2008 18:26:53 -0500

In today’s Washington Post Book World, Michael Dirda enlightens us about giving books as presents:

Article Link

Drive Through at the Used Bookstore

Fri, 5 Dec 2008 15:28:00 -0500

Today I became what I think might be the world’s first drive through used bookstore. I took a customer’s order, delivered a book, collected money, and gave change through a driver’s side window while the customer was sitting at the steering wheel. How did this come to happen?

A very nice little old lady lugged in a large bag of books for me to evaluate for purchase. Unfortunately, one half were book club and the other half had mutilated free endpapers (surely, a past owner’s overzealous attempt at removing their identity). The bag being big, and the lady being small, I offered to walk the unwanted merchandise back out to her car.

After dropping the bag in the open trunk, I heard a loud “Excuse me” from a women sitting behind the wheel a few cars over. Turns out that she had come to my store to pick up a copy of “The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton” for her husband’s Christmas present, but her two young daughters were napping in their car seats. She explained that she wanted to come in - but didn’t want to wake her children - and didn’t want to leave them alone in the car - and was in a rush anyway, just trying to get get everything done. Of course, I told her not to worry, we could work things out.

I went inside, found the book and went back outside where she could inspect it. It was fine, so I brought her money and the book back in, rung it up, wrapped it, and put it in a bag. Using a loud voice, I made sure the other customers in the store were fine, then went back outside and gave the young mother her book, receipt, and change. She thanked me, rolled up her window, started her engine, and backed out of her parking space. The kids were still asleep in the back seat. I went back inside to wait on my other customers.

‘Tending Your Bookshelf’

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:36:34 -0500

Today’s New York Times Review of Books contains an essay by Laura Miller entitled ‘Tending Your Bookshelf’. She muses interestingly about the ins and the outs, and what should be there...

New York Times Article Link

Are you cleaning your bookshelves? Bring your books to Blue Plate Books for evaluation.

Winchester Star ‘Open for Business’ Feature

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 18:09:13 -0500

Blue Plate Books was featured in the Open for Business feature in the Winchester Star today.

You can read it on line at this link: Winchester Star

What We Serve at Blue Plate Books

Sat, 1 Nov 2008 16:26:57 -0400

The Bibliophile’s Menu

Ex-Library Eggs
Green Eggs & Ham oeuvre easy. Served with Grolier Grits.

Hardback Hamburger
Served with Fiction Fries, Civil War Slaw, and a Chapbook Shake

Horror Hoagie
A classic Italian Sub-title. King-sized helping of Paperback Pretzels & Pickled Provence

Facsimile Fillet
First Edition Fried Fish with Dust Jacket Chips & Closed Tears

Mystery Lovers Meatloaf
Fortified with blended bindings. Served with a side of Mashed Paper & Points Peas.

Verso Vegetable Wraps
Filled with a nutritious blend of head bands, high spots, and hinges.

For Dessert
Enjoy our Presentation Copy Pie or our Else Fine Sundae

The Rest of the Story?

Fri, 3 Oct 2008 16:26:50 -0400

Today I noticed a lovely inscription in a spiral bound local cookbook that I was placing into stock. But I wasn’t sure of the real meaning behind the words. The text read:

“To Irene: What is Friendship? Friendship is a joy that just never ends.”

Sounds touching enough - but it was inscribed in “The Versatile Vinegars from White House.” I guess I was just hoping that this gift didn’t ‘sour’ their relationship.

A Mention in the Washington Post

Thu, 2 Oct 2008 16:29:01 -0400

In his column today, the always readable (and often insightful) Washington Post Metro columnist John Kelly included an excerpt from an e-mail I sent him concerning his 9/24 column “Surviving Tough Economic Times? Readers Say, Bring It!”

You can read his complete article here. The following is a direct quote from the paper {including a quote from me [as well me quoting a customer (is this a ‘tertiary quote’?)]}...

“Pat Saine registered polite disagreement with the suggestion that people use libraries rather than bookstores. Wrote Pat: "The libraries I've visited lately have aging collections in mediocre condition." Rather, he said, people should frequent their local good used-book store.

And what a coincidence: Pat has just opened a bookstore in Winchester, Va., called Blue Plate Books. Wrote Pat: "This morning I was chatting with a customer about the latest Washington/Wall Street money drama. 'What should we be doing?' I asked. His opinion was this: 'I'll take this sci-fi novel. Now's a good time to bury your head in a book.' "

“Surviving Tough Economic Times? Readers Say, Bring It!”

“Readers Are Rich in Money-Saving Tips”

Travel Thought for the Day

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 16:22:23 -0400

Most of the books in my store cost no more than a gallon or two of gasoline does these days. But I can guarantee you that you’ll travel a lot farther with just one of my books than with a whole tank of gas.

Books take you places.

Shelf Progress

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:06:57 -0400

We arose early today and drove 2 hours to Ikea in Woodbridge. We spent the day choosing shelving units, chairs, lamps, step stools and the like. We rented a large pick-up truck. Sixteen sets of 72 inch tall Billy bookshelves - even when efficiently flat-packed as Ikea likes to say - just won’t fit inside of my Mini Cooper.

The day was hot and long. The temperature topped 95. Which made loading and unloading all the more fun. And when I say the day was long, I’m not kidding. We arrived back home around 9:00pm - the Ikea laden truck bed having been emptied into the store. Seeing the empty truck bed, we enthusiastically decided that, since we still had the rental truck till the morning, why not take a load of books down to the store tonight? We could then fill the truck up again for a morning run. The truck bed could be easily filled 2 or 3 times over with the book boxes left over from the big move a couple of weeks ago. So there I am, dragging a handcart in the dark, navigating uphill across the unlit side yard, and then heaving book boxes onto the tailgate while Deb is packing them in. Even though the sun has set, it is still at least 85 degrees out. We’re both tired. We’re hot. We’re sweaty. Our arms are ready to fall off. We finish filling the truck at about 11:00 and get ready to make the trip into town. I ask Deb if she’s game and she puts on her ‘I’m a trooper face’ and answers ‘Let’s go!’

Then a thought occurs to me. It’s a thirty minute drive into town, then another 30 or so to unload. That makes it midnight before heading back for another pickup-bed-loading session. I picture myself at 1AM. Dressed in Roman slave rags like a late 50’s costume drama starring Kirk Douglas or Charlton Heston: I’m bare backed, my body sweat glistening in the moonlight. I’m moving up the side yard hill in slow motion to the methodical beat of the drums. It is then that I realized what Falstaff meant about discretion being the better part of valor.

Instead of driving into town, we decided to wait until morning. We showered and both felt and smelt better for it.

A Recipe For Starting A Used Bookstore

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 21:28:36 -0400

Yesterday, I picked up the key for a strip mall storefront that I hope to transform into a profitable used bookstore. The store, cleverly named Blue Plate Books, aims to serve up a
healthy helping of books at affordable - ‘blue plate special’ - prices. Our byline? “Feeding Your Need to Read” This bookstore has long resided first in the back, and now more recently in the very front, of my mind. The key in my hand should convince me that yes, Virginia, the bookstore is real. So before this dream of a second career transmogrifies into the harsh reality of a daily job, I thought I’d try to remember how I got here.

I’ve been actively working on making this a reality for almost 2 years. My recipe: Start with one slightly burned out health care worker. Mine was a detail oriented ophthalmic photographer (he took pictures of eyes). He’d loved books,
collected many, and had even written a few. He’d always been devoted to his career and to his patients. But 25 years of going full speed ahead on a daily basis was starting to take its toll. Suddenly, the stars made a right hand turn, angling toward alignment. His boss changed positions, and the new boss was not for the better. His two children were just completing their undergraduate degrees (translation: a respite from college bills). And his wife was recruited to a better position in a significantly warmer state (Virginia is due south of New Hampshire). He began to think that his very late 40’s would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a new start. He’d always wanted to run a bookstore…

Back to the recipe: Sprinkle liberally with education. My first plan of attack was reading. Helen Hanff’s romantic ‘84 Charing Cross Road’ was balanced with the practical ‘Complete Guide to Starting a Used Bookstore’ by Dale Gilbert. Series of books included three works each by the Ahearns and the Goldstones. These intriguing reads were balanced by the always boring database and business software how-to manuals.

Following Frances Bacon’s personal advice (”Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.”), I went to summer camp for used booksellers.
While both terrifying and exhilarating, the highlight of The Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar was not freewheeling a bicycle down the twisty summit road of Pike’s Peak the Saturday following the conference. The highlight was also not (although it suited me fine) getting up at the crack of dawn each day for an early start to the seminar, then returning back late (11:00 or so) with your head crammed full of important grand schemes and minor details you won’t want to forget. For me, the best part of the seminar was hearing about other bookseller’s experiences. One man shared that he had closed 3 different used bookstores in the last 3 years. He was there to find out what happened so he
wouldn’t be forced to close his next venture quite so quickly. A women talked about what and how she was selling on the internet; and wondering why she just wasn’t making any real money. And the instructors generously shared stories about their failures alongside equally enlightening successes.

For the binder that holds together the above ingredients, I suggest experience. I sought this out in two ways: via discussion and by procuring a minimum wage job with a daily start time of 6AM. I asked questions of every bookstore owner I met: what worked? What suggestions do you have for a newbie? What was your worst mistake? I asked friends and neighbors: what are you reading? What is the last great book you read? What’s your favorite book? I queried myself: What do I need to accomplish in order to succeed at this? What can I do today to move forward - even if just a little bit.

One of the suggestions by the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar faculty was to obtain a job in a local used bookstore. They suggested that it would be a good way to find out how things really worked. Since that wasn’t possible in my community, I found a position at the local big-box-bookstore: Borders. My IPT position (Inventory Processing Team) required me to report before the sun rose and take a 90% pay cut, based on my previous salary. It meant getting a raise so small that my just-out-of-college daughter laughed at it. At least being a member of the Inventory Processing Team sounded impressive. Until you learn what it really means. My job involved swapping out magazines from the newstand, unloading boxes, and putting books on shelves.

But the people I worked with were great. And it was a very useful learning experience. I saw firsthand which of the books I placed on the shelf sold, and which got shipped back to the publisher. I learned to relate with customers and find them books when all they gave me to go on was “I think it had a yellow cover”. And I learned that the price of a book is really only based upon what someone else is willing to pay. More than once I witnessed the self-same title sold at list price from Borders’ shelf while being deeply discounted in their bargain area, and then sold for almost
free at a local garage sale.

To mix with the above ingredients, take one part basement and fill with books. Wait, make that most of the basement. While I worked at Borders, I also worked at obtaining stock. Depending on who I asked, a minimum of 4 to 6 to 10 thousand books would be needed to start my store. So every penny that Borders paid me, along with any funds from various freelance photography gigs, were channeled into the bookstore fund. Buy books, clean them, sort and box them. Wait - be sure to leave a path between the boxes so we can still get to the washing machine.

What did we live on? I’m lucky in that our modest lifestyle of the last 2 years has allowed us to make ends meet using just my wife’s salary (Thanks Honey!). Trust me, we are both looking forward to some income from this store. But that won’t come until we actually open. And that won’t come until after the movers arrive today to transfer the boxes and the bookshelves to their new home in the strip mall.

As I help them pack their truck, my experience at Borders will come in handy. And then, once the truck pulls up in front of the storefront, I’ll use my new key to literally open the door on a new chapter in my life. Wish me luck with Winchester Virginia’s newest bookstore: Blue Plate Books.

(originally written on July 2 and posted at www.bookshopblog.com on July 20, 2008)