Lemuria Bookstore Blog

The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things on Off and Start Getting Stuff Done by Piers Steel, Ph.D. Harper Collins (2011) For the last few months, I’ve been thinking about why distractions, so constant in modern life, keep us from having authentic face-to-face experiences. It seems every experience is interrupted by someone informing us [...]

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Driving Excellence: Transforming your Organization’s Culture and Achieve Revolutionary Results by Mark Aesch (Hyperion, 2011) Our recession has pointed out to struggling businesses that in case you didn’t already know it, your business is broken. You can’t do things the old way and survive. As Dylan used to say, “The times they are a changin’.” [...]

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Beer: A Genuine Collection of Cans Photography & Design by Dan Becker and Lance Wilson (Chronicle Books, 2011) As a fifth grader in 1975, Josh Russo began his collection of  beer cans. Josh became hooked from his first day of searching. His dad, a traveling businessman, fed this collecting compulsion, picking up various cans in [...]

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Daring to Trust: Opening Ourselves to Real Love and Intimacy by David Richo (Shambhala, 2010) Trust is defined as “a firm and hopeful reliance on the fidelity, integrity, or in the ability of a person or thing.” It is not dependency but rather an inner assurance, a confidence that gives us a sense of security, [...]

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Borders has missed its deadline of May 6th for bids that would keep the company operating. B & N expressed interest to buy 10 stores. Another offer is rumored to buy 200 stores. This unknown company seems to be interested in the large retails outlets that garner the bulk of the company revenues. Borders may [...]

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Booksellers are in a unique position in that they constantly watch what people read and get new ideas for reading adventures from their customers. I had a fun experience learning about the latest book by Paul Sullivan. My first encounter with Clutch was in September at a Texas airport having a beer. The young pretty [...]

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Lemurians were elevated Monday as Greg Iles came to visit us. I’m happy to report our time together was like old times, yakking about books and the current book business confusion. Just out of the hospital after a car wreck, Greg is back but he’s got a tough row to hoe this spring sportin’ around [...]

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Before the great recession, around 2005, I was recently divorced and working on figuring out my retirement plans. I was meeting with my bank pals, Stan and John. During the process I was asked “How far out do you want to plan?”. My answer was”Until I’m a hundred years old. I’m going to try to [...]

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In 1975, Lemuria was born as an independent bookstore. It was a brain-germ product of the counter culture movement that started in the 60s. Middle America was a little later in the culture realization of those times. I remember that independents were approximately 50% of trade sales for publishers. We were also in the middle [...]

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Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely (Harper, 2008) Dan Ariely defines predictably irrational: Our irrationality happens the same way again and again; our irrational behaviors are neither random or senseless, they are systematic and since we repeat them again and again, predictable. Predictably Irrational (PI) addresses imprinting, why we [...]

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