On Sunday as I waited for my train from Toronto to Ottawa, after a successful book signing event at Sleuth of Baker Street with five mysterious and murderous colleagues – Rick Blechta, Joan Boswell, Melodie Campbell, Vicki Delany, and Barbara Fradkin …and then a double book launch with Joan Boswell the next day – a hectic but fun weekend – where was I? Oh, yes, I read in the paper about a book store that dispensed books from a machine for $2 each.
It seems (I’ve forgotten where it was) this store owner enlisted a friend to devise such a machine. He’d attempted several different creative methods for selling them, one of which was out on the sidewalk, all in the cause of encouraging people to buy books and more importantly, read.
These were not the latest Peter Robinson hardcover, of course. These were older titles that sometimes accumulate in the back room of a store and eventually demand something be done with them or they will overtake the already crowded space. His idea became such a popular stop, especially after devising the book dispenser, that he has ended up supplementing the earlier selection of forgotten books with new titles he buys specifically for this bargain corner.
Clever fellow, and dedicated to the world of books, too. Maybe it will take off in corner stores around the country just as the, ‘leave a used book on a park bench’ idea has.
Who says there’s not a market for paper books anymore!
Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
READ AND BURIED
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
A KILLER READ, also available at your favourite bookstores and online.
www.erikachase.com
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