Opening the Door at Battenkill Books: Part 1

For a new bookstore, the word "open" has two connotations. First, you open your business, and then you hope all of your careful preparations will entice readers to open your front door and come inside. The first opening is celebratory; the second will be an ongoing challenge as long as you own the shop.

Yes, I concede there are other crucial openings--customers open books that intrigue them and then, ideally, open their wallets--but we'll stick to the first two examples this week.

Last November, in the small upstate New York town of Cambridge, Connie Brooks and her husband, Chris, opened Battenkill Books. Since then, many locals and tourists have opened the shop's front door and entered, as I did this week, to meet Connie and explore her beautiful bookstore.

The first question any bookseller is likely to have when meeting someone who has chosen to enter the trade is basic: Why?

Connie said the path "that led us to the bookstore is as much about the path that led us to Cambridge." They had attended college in the region--Connie at Skidmore and Chris at RPI. They lived in Japan for a time, "and then London--a bibliophile's dream, of course. I've worked in marketing and fundraising. We moved to Cambridge four years ago--we were very consciously leaving suburban Connecticut behind and embracing a life outside of that rat race. Chris runs his own small engineering firm, and he primarily works with farmers in Vermont on sustainable energy (growing oil seeds to turn into fuel, for example)."

Then "this beautiful but neglected building went up for sale in the center of the village. It had been empty for the better part of the past 30 years. This was the depths of the recession, and we are crazy. So we bought it, and then started dreaming about what the first floor retail space could contain. Battenkill Books, as it was then, was being run by two ladies already in retirement. It was small, cramped, and had limited hours. We felt there was potential to expand the business. We felt in our hearts that the community could sustain a larger store. We started talking to the owners and one thing led to another. For me it is a dream come true. I love books, always have, and I also dearly love the social aspect of the job. And Chris and I are absolutely intrigued by the business side of it all as well--we love the challenge of making this work."

Growing up in the Berkshires, her hometown bookstore was the Bookloft, Great Barrington, Mass., which became part of her inspiration for this new career. "I am also a great lover of libraries--their intimacy and style and grace--and in some small way I want our store to give that feeling to people; there can be such a feeling of comfort in a bookstore, and many of our customers remark on it."

As with any new indie, connecting with the community has been a key factor from the start. Thus far, she said the response has been excellent. "Within a few weeks, Joe Donahue of WAMC had invited me to be on the Roundtable's Book Picks show. A parent approached me about starting a book club for third and fourth graders in the store after school. I have a customer who brings me homemade cake on nights she knows will be slow, to keep my spirits up. I quickly teamed up with two nonprofit organizations and we've been partnering on an event series called the Curiosity Forum, and that has really taken off. In one weekend, I had two events--one at the Bog, a local watering hole, and the other at the Farmer's Market--and sold the same number of books in both locations."

Connie noted that the best aspect of bookselling for her has been "our regular customers. I've gotten to know some really extraordinary people who I consider friends." The worst, naturally, is "the long hours. Small is beautiful, but it also is grueling. I'm often over at the building on Sunday nights putting in a book order for Tuesday morning delivery. I work on the website and e-mail newsletters at night after we've put our son to bed. I'm the bill-payer, the IT department, the HR department, etc. I laugh out loud when someone calls and asks for accounts payable. 'Yup, you've got her!' "

Next week, more on Battenkill Books, including its successful Curiosity Forum program. And yes, for those of you keeping score at home, not only did I open the front door of Battenkill Books, but I opened my wallet and purchased a book while I was there.--Published in Shelf Awareness, issue #1250