topbanana's blog

2011 Calendars are here! It is never too early to get organized. AND... just mention at the front register that you read this blog... and you will get a 20% discount off your calendar purchase!!! Woo! Hoo!

For the young girls out there... we now have The Pretty Little Liars series on our shelves. Read the books and watch the shows on ABC Family TV. What could be better???

The dog days of August are knocking at our door. The excitement of summer vacation is calming down, the kids are getting restless, the days seem longer. NOW is the time that Chicklet Books kicks it in to high gear and rearranges the store!!! It's a lot of heavy work but is definitely worth the effort.

I'm bbbbbbbaaaaaaccccccckkkkkkkk! Did you all miss me??? It's time to dust off this website... make it SHINE LIKE THE TOP OF THE CHRYSLER BUILDING... and put it through it's paces.

One of the very first changes you will see is that I have decided to become an Amazon Associate. I know, I know... you think I have gone crazy... but really I haven't. Let me explain...

Today was the absolute PERFECT bookstore day. A little cloudy and damp... you can feel Autumn hiding around the corner. A constant flow of customers, slow but steady. Leaving me time to talk to everyone that came in... like 'old home' week... but still keeping me on my toes. Catching up with a lot of the 'regulars' that I haven't seen in a while due to our conflicting vacation schedules, or sadly illness on their part was my job #1 today.

For all of us learning to cook from The Silver Palate Cookbook, New Basics Cookbook, Cooking Around the World and many others written by Sheila Lukins... August 30th was a sad day. Lukins passed away after a 3 month battle with brain cancer at the age of 66.

One of the most fun parts of my job is shopping for new books for the store. I travel all over the US searching through warehouses, attending trade shows, meeting with publishers to bring you the best books they have to offer at the best prices I can get.

Sophia Raday is an author. She wrote 'Love in Condition Yellow'. When she called the store and mentioned that she would be in town and was wondering if she could come in and do a reading I was guarded. Readings and signings do not do well in my store unless the author brings along their own fan club.

"Sure", I replied as I pulled out the calendar to pencil her in.
"Can I bring wine and cheese"?
I answered with an emphatic, "YES"!

Hey everyone... WELCOME to the new and improved Chicklet Book Website! Our stores have grown so much in the past four years that we thought our website should keep up with us.

If you like the new look... thank Jen at Hectic Red (www.hectic-red.com). She listened closely to what we wanted our site to do, waved her magic wand and after many hours of hard work POOF... our beautiful site was born... polka dots and all.