I spend a lot/inordinate amount of time at Commonplace Coffeehouse in Squirrel Hill. And who can blame me? The coffee is delicious, the lattes exquisite, and the place (and the new location in Garfield) exudes a cool vibe and an utter lack of pretension. (I'm pretty sure I had a religious experience over their Winter Spice latte).
| Ms. Weiss-Duncan at famed DC bookstore, Politics and Prose |
Recently I stumbled across a seemingly ordinary copy of A Separate Peace.
The first six months of the East End Book Exchange has left me with more questions than answers about the state of books and bookstores in our world. Here are some of the questions that keep me up at night:
How do we reconcile our love of beautiful, centrally-located bookstores (i.e. near weekly collection of the "20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World", "25 Most Beautiful Libraries" "25 Most Beautiful University Libraries") with our addiction to cheap books?
Is the assumption that people will pay more for a book if it supports an independent bookstore elitist? Is that assumption even a viable business model anymore?
Is keeping the price of books low an affront to the writers, illustrators, editors, and publishers who created the book? Can we keep the price of books low and still do justice to the craftsmanship? How do we reconcile the real cost of books while promoting access to books?
BUT.
A truth universally acknowledged: selling books is incredibly fun, incredibly challenging, and incredibly rewarding. I would not trade it for anything.
It has been a busy couple of weeks for the East End Book Exchange, so it only belatedly occurred to me that as of January 27th, the East End Book Exchange is six months old! Wow, how did that happen? The fact that my little bookstore has been operational and financially viable for six months now is deeply satisfying. It also makes my head spin. None of this would have been possible without the help and support of many wonderful people. I thought I would use this little anniversary to thank the many people who helped make the East End Book Exchange possible and to offer a few reflections on six months of bookselling.
To my family: I am so lucky. Thank you.
To Lindsay Patross: For championing the EEBX early and often.
To those who hosted the EEBX as a pop-up: Tiffani Emig and the Pittsburgh Public Market, Andre Chubb and the awesome folks at Commonplace Coffeehouse, Nina Marie Barbuto and Assemble, Iris Whitworth and Garden Dreams, Jeb Feldman and Molly Hanse at Unsmoke Systems: Thank you for not running in the opposite direction when the EEBX turned out just to be a skinny girl with a car full of books.
An extra shout-out to the folks at Commonplace Coffee in Squirrel Hill: thank you for continuing to listen, offering advice, and keeping me caffeinated on a near daily basis.
To Sherrie Flick, Rick Schweikert, Luke Lozier, Karen Lillis, and Kate and Michael Weiss-Duncan: Thank you for supporting me and this harebrained scheme when you had no earthly reason to do so.
To some fine folks in Dover, New Hampshire and State College, Pa: Thank you for your continued support. Many of you have visited the EEBX, donated or bought books. One of you even schlepped boxes of books one hot weekend in August. I am not sure I deserve your generosity. Thanks especially for reminding me that friendship can stretch far.
Finally, thank you to anyone who has ever donated to or bought books from the East End Book Exchange: It is the human element that matters most to the survival of a bookstore. We would not exist without you. Thank you so very, very much.
| Our first pop-up! Sunday, July 31, 2011 @ the Pittsburgh Public Market |
| August 6, 2011 @ Commonplace Coffeehouse in Squirrel Hill |
| August 27, 2011 @ Assemble |
| August 28, 2011 - popping up again the Pittsburgh Public Market |
| September 24, 2011 - Garden Dreams Urban Farm in Wilkinsburg |
| October 1, 2011 - Wood-Fired Words at Unsmoke Art Space in Braddock |
| October 21, 2011 - first day as a full-time vendor at the Pittsburgh Public Market |
| February 12, 2012 |
| Passover Cookies, anyone? |
| Reads: "Kay says this is good." |
| available for purchase: $10.00 |
| available for purchase: $8.00, hardcover, no dustjacket |
| reads: "To Sharon - keep giving these away! Michael Chabon" |
| $30, hardcover with dustjacket, excellent condition. |
It was a successful holiday season for independent booksellers, and the East End Book Exchange was no exception. Here's a list of some of the titles purchased between Thanksgiving and Christmas (this is just a list. It is not a top ten list, it is not in any particular order. It is just a list).
One evening a few weeks ago, I sat down to read Jane Austen's Emma, a book that I had been reading off and on for a few weeks. This time, however, I could not remember where I had left off. Was it where I had stuffed an old receipt, when (spoiler alert) Emma finds out about Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill, or was it where I had placed a boarding pass, when (spoiler alert again) Mr. Knightley finally expresses his affection for Emma? On other occasions I have opened books to find ticket stubs, unused napkins, or a picture shoved in between the pages. Rarely have I ever found an actual bookmark.
The secret pleasures of working with used books is seeing not only what people keep at an arm's length when they're reading, but also how they treat their books as extensions of their living space. In the books that have been donated to the East End Book Exchange, I've found ticket stubs, paper products of various sorts, more than a few personal pictures (don't worry. I'll never post them), and even a few bookmarks or two. I wouldn't be surprised if I eventually find a mattress tag.
Recently, Michael Popek, a longtime used and rare bookseller published Forgotten Bookmarks: A Bookseller's Collection of Odd Things Lost Between the Pages, about the odds and ends he's found in other people's books. NPR recently featured Forgotten Bookmarks: http://www.npr.org/books/titles/143224895/forgotten-bookmarks-a-booksellers-collection-of-odd-things-lost-between-the-page. Popek also maintains a website: http://www.forgottenbookmarks.com/, which is rapidly becoming one of my favorite blogs.
In that spirit, here some of the EEBE's favorite "forgotten bookmarks":
A ticket NYC's Boston Comedy Club:
Finally, some good news coming out of State College, PA: the much-loved bookstore, Webster's Bookstore Cafe, will re-open at the beginning of 2012!
I am looking for a few good book lovers to help the East End Book Exchange over Thanksgiving weekend. I have to make a long-planned trip to Texas during the holiday and will need some people to run the shop in my absence. The dates are Friday, November 25th (10-6pm), Saturday, November 26th (9-5), and Sunday, November 27th (10-4). It promises to be a busy weekend at the Public Market and I don't want EEBE to miss out on all the fun.
If you can work for even a few hours on any day, please email me at eastendbookexchange@gmail.com
Thanks!
This is the East End Book Exchange at the Pittsburgh Public Market
Since its inception, East End Book Exchange has functioned proudly as a pop-up business. That model has served us well. We sold a lot of great books, met a lot of great people, and had a blast exploring our great city. We enjoyed the excitement of popping up in unexpected locations, of not knowing where we will be from week to week, and we have been thrilled and humbled by the number of you who have joined us on this fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants journey. We have had fun sowing our wild oats (as much as a bookstore can sow their wild oats).
But there comes a time when every new business needs to grow up and settle down. And this time has finally come for East End Book Exchange. I am pleased to announce that beginning Friday, October 21st, East End Book Exchange will be a full-time vendor at the Pittsburgh Public Market. We will be there every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through the holiday season. We are thrilled to have this opportunity and we are grateful to the Market for all of the support they have shown us over the last few months, and especially as we have made this transition to full-time vendor.
The essence of the East End Book Exchange will not change: you will still be able to buy used books and donate your old ones. We hope you will come visit us! We look forward to talking books with you again very soon. We'll see you at the Market!
much love,
Lesley
Hi everybody!
There's a lot going on this weekend, but one thing you won't want to miss is Wood-Fired Words. East End Book Exchange is thrilled to be participating in this great event!
Wood-Fired Words is this Saturday, October 1st, UnSmoke ArtSpace in Braddock. Saturday, October 1st, 7PM – 10PM. $5. BYOB.
This event has already been featured in Pop City Media: http://www.popcitymedia.com/popfilter/default.aspx#e3acc999-6678-4edd-bb7b-25e45b3e2b82 and in the City Paper: http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A101043
Featuring: a fiction reading by Josh Barkan, Into the Furnace writer-in-residence, live music by the Emily Pinkerton Trio, paintings by John Fleenor, the East End Book Exchange, Pittsburgh’s pop-up used bookstore, and pizza from the wood-fired community pizza oven.
UnSmoke Systems ArtSpace is located at 1137 Braddock Ave, Braddock, PA 15104.
Wood-Fired Words is being organized by Sherrie Flick, of the Gist Street Reading Series.
Hey everybody!
We've got a great new event to add to our calendar! This Saturday, September 24th, East End Book Exchange heads to Wilkinsburg for the 4th Annual Hamnet Place Community Harvest Festival and Potluck. The festival will be at Garden Dreams Urban Farm and Nursery and Hamnet Place Community Garden from 12 noon - 3:00pm. There will lots of great events for kids and we'll be there selling books and accepting donations. Not only does this promise to be a great day (who doesn't love a good fall festival), but you'll be supporting many wonderful, local, and community-focused organizations!
For more details on the festival, check out the Hamnet Place Community Garden blog: http://hamnettgarden.blogspot.com/.
Looking forward to seeing you all there!
East End Book Exchange is excited to announce two upcoming pop-up events:
On Sunday, September 25th, we will make our third trip to Pittsburgh Public Market! We'll be there from 10 - 4pm. Come down and check out our selection of books. As usual, we'll also be accepting donations. We hope you'll stop by and say hello!
Then on Saturday, October 1st, we are heading to Braddock! We'll be at UnSmoke Art Space for Wood-Fired Words, an evening that will include a reading, music, books, art, and homemade pizza. The event starts at 7pm; reading starts at 8pm
UnSmoke Art Space (across from the mill)
1137 Braddock Avenue
Braddock, PA 15104
$5
BYOB (Please bring potluck snacks if you're inspired!)
Featuring:
Fiction writer and Braddock's first "Into the Furnace" writer-in-residence Josh Barkan
The Emily Pinkerton Trio
The East End Book Exchange (a pop-up independent used book store)
An exhibition of paintings by John Fleenor: "Meet the News Team"
Homemade pizza from the community oven
This promises to be a great evening. We hope to see you there!
Okay, so, you may have noticed that in addition to using this blog to post EEBE announcements, I also use it to explore the experience and love of reading, of books (the kind that you can hold in your hand, the kind for which you have to lick your finger in order to turn the page), of bookstores, of the written word. If I've learned one thing thus far from running the East End Book Exchange, it is that selling books is more than just commerce. It is an emotional exchange. It's gratifying to watch people get excited by books, it's upsetting when they are disappointed when they can't find something they want (I swear I'm working on getting copies of The Help). Bottom line: books are a lot of fun.
In that spirit, I found another piece that I would like to share with you. It's by the University of Pittsburgh's own Michael Chabon and it was published in the New York Review of Books in April 2011: http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2011/apr/21/michael-chabon-phantom-tollbooth-wonder-words/
(I should add, I'm not wholly anti-e-reader/e-book. I can see the value in them for their convenience factor, if, for example, you're on the go a lot and don't want to carry a lot with you. But it's hard for me to see how the e-book can facilitate the same experience that Chabon describes. Anyway, I just like books better.)
World, we have a website!
www.eastendbookexchange.com is live and ready to go.
The website will serve as an one-stop shop for all things EEBE. It's where we'll post upcoming events and other announcements, and where you can connect to our blog, our facebook page, and our twitter feed (all of which we will continue to update). You can also email us directly using the Contact Us link.
Enjoy!
The Pittsburgh Public Market is celebrating their First Anniversary this weekend! They'll have a full slate of activities, in addition to their usual awesomeness, beginning this Friday, September 2nd. You can check out the entire schedule here: http://pittsburghpublicmarket.org/2011/08/25/birthday-celebration/
When you're not too busy visiting us this Saturday (@ Commonplace Coffee, 10 - 2 in Squirrel Hill), you should make sure to head down to the Market. They've been a great support to the East End Book Exchange, and they are a wonderful supporter of local Pittsburgh businesses in general. The fact that they've only been in existence for a year makes my head spin. It seems as if in only a short time they've become a real Pittsburgh institution.
Hey guys! East End Book Exchange is going back to the Commonplace Coffeehouse (I seriously cannot get enough of that place. The coffee's so good!). We'll be there this Saturday, September 3rd from 10 - 2pm. We hope you'll take some time from your Labor Day weekend to stop by, say hi, and buy some books!
Commonplace is located at 5827 Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill.
Tell your friends!
A friend just alerted me to the Book Bike: http://links.bikehugger.com/2011/08/book-bike.html
While it does look like fun, I'm not sure I have the strength to pedal that thing without tipping over. The East End Book Exchange is always accepting suggestions for possible (stationary) pop-up locations. If you know of a place or an event that could use a book vendor and a rapidly growing inventory, please don't hesitate to drop us a line at
eastendbookexchange@gmail.com.
Also, our website will be going live very shortly (right now www.eastendbookexchange.com just points to the facebook page). Please stay tuned!
Check out this great article about us in today's Post-Gazette!!
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11242/1170829-294.stm
Thanks, everyone, for helping to make this possible :)