Dear Reader,

Last week I spent a few days in New Orleans, attending the yearly ABA (American Booksellers Association) Winter Institute--where independent booksellers from all over the country met to share ideas, learn new ways of doing things, and of course talk about books. This year there was an air of optimism and a spirit of innovation--what an inspiring change of events from years past. Nearly every store reported that in December 2011 their stores were busier than they'd been in years. The question on everyone's lips, though, was whether the upswing in business is the last hurrah for the indie bookstore, or the beginning of a new trend fueled by renewed interest in shopping locally. Of course, most of us agreed (and truly believe) that it's the beginning of a trend, and we are looking ahead with optimism.

Then I came back north and spent a day at the Digital Book World conference in Manhattan. I spoke on a panel called "Bookstore Renaissance." It's telling (although I think it's only logical) that there was time devoted to brick-and-mortar stores at a digital book conference. While we do of course sell ebooks, the focus of the panel was on the future of bricks-and-mortar stores--and more exciting news about the future.

All of the energy and optimism, and celebration of books that we shared at these events fed into building excitement for a wild celebration that the entire industry is taking on in April of this year--called World Book Night.

On World Book Night (April 23rd), 50,000 book lovers in the U.S. will go out into their communities and give away a total of 1 million free books to spread the joy of reading. YOU can be a part of this, and we hope you will! You'll get to choose which book you'd like to give from a fantastic list of 30 titles, with something for everyone. 20 copies of your chosen book will be shipped to our store, where you'll pick them up in mid-April. You'll also be invited to our World Book Night party.

Imagine this opportunity we have--you can give away copies of your favorite book at a place of your choosing. We hope to see people get creative with their ideas on where to hand out books--will you give out books at a nursing home, or on the town green, or at the supermarket, on the bus, at the train station, at a local park, or at a food bank? The goal is to get great books into the hands of people who don't read often or don't have regular access to books, to celebrate the printed word, and to get people reading more.  

Participating in World Book Night is a fantastic opportunity for our staff and our customers to play a part in reaching out to people in our community who may not be avid readers but whose eyes may be opened by having one of these phenomenal books put in their hands.

I'd love for us to really make a difference in our community by having as many of you as possible participate.  

Sign up now at  http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=ixqsntbab&et=1109175898912&s=2117&e=001xoN2YZW_GxJA3nTV0cDBDCeQWW6az9SHSLjEYJV4ZqDZySwG0AQ-GTexawFgipfSr9G2w9l15YFDl1TXEotf3gEhYuQ_ofrwzhzNYTi-hKOnhVKe-bQK_A==. The deadline to apply is February 1st, so don't wait! The World Book Night website has all the information you'll need, but if you have additional questions you can call our store (203-245-3959) and ask for Denise or Kira.