So here we are friends. My name is Arvin Ram (short for Ramgoolam) and pictured with me is my life-partner and co-owner of our businesses Danica C. Ayraud. Welcome if you know us and welcome if you don't. In 2009 we opened our 1st business RUMORS COFFEE and TEA HOUSE, and in June of 2011 we opened our second business TOWNIE BOOKS. I've been meaning to get this blog going for a while and a recent NYT article lit a small fire under me to get this going.

While the article mainly addresses a post-Borders world, it still has some valid points for indies (independent booksellers) like us. The biggest point in the article is that e-books are changing the lay of the book-land for publishers and sellers. Luckily, independents have gained the ability recently to sell e-books. However not at the oh-so-deep discounts of the other guys. I suppose we now have a common threat so to speak, collectively between Brick & Mortar booksellers and publishers the big bad A monster is coming for us and if we don't get our proverbial 'shit' together they will have our main streets devoid of booksellers. In retrospect of the article, B&N may be the only thing keeping the A monster at bay with its Nook as the pebble in the sling against Goliath. One major note in the piece I took was, "If something were to happen to Barnes & Noble, if it were to merely scale back its ambitions, Amazon could become even more powerful and - well, the very thought makes publishers queasy."

Speaking of publishers, I often wonder why publishers have not banded together to not let themselves be hustled by Bezos and Co. Ever wonder why their prices are so low? It's mostly due to the big A doing a lot of ball squeezing via economic vice-grips. So how about it publishers? How about regrowing a pair, standing by your indies (ok, and I guess B&N) to let the big A know that they are not allowed to use our stores as showrooms for books purchased through them.

So what will B&N do to help publishers and booksellers? They'll keep the experience of being in a bookstore alive. "What publishers count on from bookstores is the browsing effect. Surveys indicate that only a third of the people who step into a bookstore and walk out with a book actually arrived with the specific desire to buy one" according to the article. They'll push their technology that even regular bookstores can have access to selling product. In effect, "Anybody who is an author, a publisher, or makes their living from distributing intellectual property in book form is badly hurt... if Barnes and Noble does not prosper." I'm starting to agree, especially if the enemy of your enemy, is your friend.

We believe in readers.  We believe in books.  We believe in the power of the written word.  We believe in the magic of children discovering the world of books.  We believe in this community.  We believe that people would rather buy their books from their friendly neighborhood bookstore rather than a website.  We believe in browsing for hours with a good cup of tea.  We believe in staying up until 2 in the morning because you just can’t put a book down.  We believe in book clubs, libraries, and reading under trees.  We believe that some books you make your friends read and some books you should keep under your bed and never tell anyone about.  We believe in making a difference through books.