Bookstores and Bloggers

Publishers Weekly takes note that bookstores and bloggers can be like peanut butter and jelly - a perfect fit.

From the post...

Bloggers bring an energy about books and authors that's unfettered by the day-to-day concerns of running a bookstore. Even the names—Devourer of Books, Bookalicious, the Book Lady—imply a voracious appetite for books. For an employee discount and an opportunity to interview authors who come to the store, many bloggers are willing to create grassroots promotions by writing about bookstores on their blogs and organizing store events.

Bookseller Margie White at Just the Bookstore in Glen Ellyn, Ill., first met Jen Karsbaek (Devourer of Books) in the usual way, on Twitter. "We [both] love books with a passion beyond an ordinary passion," says White, who invited Karsbaek to store events when she found out that she lived nearby. Now Karsbaek helps plan the annual Glen Ellyn Bookfest and reaches out to authors for the store. Last year, Just the Bookstore created blogger bookmarks similar to staff pick cards for Karsbaek and Rebecca Joines Schinsky (the Book Lady), another Twitter friend, and the store links to Karsbaek's blog in its monthly e-newsletter. In addition to expanding the reach of Just the Bookstore, the relationship is helping the store staff become aware of more books. "I get very different books than they get in their white box," Karsbaek says.