Some people believe that all a community needs to be successful is a decent coffee shop, a decent pub and a decent book shop. Take away any of these enterprises — they must be independently owned, of course — and the wider community would feel a loss far more profound than if, say, a gas station or a real estate office shuttered its doors.
Robin Dill-Herde, owner of House of Books in Kent, is one of these people.
“People want their bookshop to remain in their town,” said Dill-Herde, whose charming shop, located in a historic building on Kent’s Main Street, will celebrate its 40th anniversary this fall. “It’s their sanctuary. They have a sense that it is one of their own places. It’s not like any other type of store. You walk in and take a whiff of the bookshop smell and you just relax.”
Dill-Herde bought the shop from previous owners, Jim and Ginny Blackketter, in 2013, after having worked there for six years.
“That was back when it was even riskier to run an indie bookshop,” she says with a laugh.
But it was during that dark economic climate that the American Booksellers Association (ABA), the trade organization for independent book shops like Dill-Herde’s, began to notice an interesting trend. That is, even as the recession raked the landscape of independent businesses, and eBooks, Kindles, Nooks and Amazon grabbed sizable chunks of the book market, many established “indies” held their own. And, once the economy began showing signs of improving, the sales of books — real, honest-to-goodness bound books with numbered pages — has steadily risen, as have the numbers of independent bookshops opening nationwide, as well as here in Connecticut. The ABA reports book sales by indie shops have increased nationwide for seven straight years, and that 300 new indie shops have joined the fold since 2009.
In other words, all those kindred spirits you see browsing in the House of Books or in Washington Depot’s Hickory Stick Bookshop, Madison’s R. J. Julia, New Canaan’s Elm Street Books or in any of the 57 indie book shops in Connecticut are not figments of your imagination.
Fran Keilty, who bought the Hickory Stick 13 years ago, has been in the indie book business for more than 30 years. She has seen sales at her shop increase in recent years despite all the other myriad distractions to which literate people are prey.
“The appeal of an indie shop is the browsing and discovering things in a congenial atmosphere,” said Keilty, who was general manager at Atticus Books, in Middletown and New Haven, before settling on the 60-year-old landmark previously owned by Marguerite Whitney.
Keilty has noticed that people tell her they spend so much of their time on their screens that it’s just a relief to hold a book.
“Kindles are good for traveling but it’s not the same feeling as holding a book,” she said. “Interestingly, I’ve noticed older people are more committed to their devices, while young people have smartphones and work at computers all day, but they like books for the down time. They tell me they enjoy the simplicity of it.”
“The book is still the best invention ever,” insists Dill-Herde. “It does not need improvement and never has.”
Another, though less quantifiable, appeal of an indie shop is that, like snowflakes, no two are alike.
“Each independent bookshop has its own personality,” says Dill-Herde. “In our shop, the customers love the quotes that we have up all over the walls and shelves. They feel the love for books here. Books bring solace to people. They’ve saved my life over and over again.”
Loyal Customers
The Appalachian Trail runs through Kent, not far from House of Books on North Main Street, so the shop has an ever changing clientele looking for maps, guidebooks and natural history titles as well as weekenders and tourists, to augment the loyal local base.
“I hear a lot about the upsurge in indie book sales, but it’s still a tough business,” Dill-Herde said. “We’re hit from a lot of different angles. However, I see more of a passion to support local independent businesses, and bookshops are included in that.”
House of Books and the Hickory Stick also host semi-regular author signings and other book events. Keilty estimates that she averages about 150 events a year — recent events included a catered lunch with author Constance Leisure (Amour Provence) and a talk and signing by Peter Vermilya (Wicked Litchfield County). Both shops also took part in a readers’ passport program, joining with hundreds of other indies nationally for a “Find Waldo Local” contest. Waldo figurines were hidden in independent shops throughout the area, and if you found one you got your passport stamped.
“This event served two purposes,” said Keilty. “First, it was a communal experience and secondly a family experience. It was also an opportunity to introduce people to local independent shops of all kinds. It’s not a huge thing, but it’s for the fun of it.”
Book Camps
“Fun” is the watchword at Jack & Allie’s Children’s Bookstore in Vernon. Barbara Khan — or “Miss Barbara” to her young customers — is a relative newcomer to the trade, having opened the shop two years ago (its name derives from Jack and the Beanstalk and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland). For a second successful summer, Khan has run a series of book camps at the shop.
“We try to use books with themes to get the kids into reading and base the activities around those themes,” said Khan, who was born in Windham Center and has lived in Vernon for 30 years. “It all comes back to the books. Having only been here two years, we weren’t bashed by the recession, and I’ve seen constant growth. Many of my loyal customers tell me, ‘I know I could get this at the big box store or on Amazon, but I want to support a local business.'”
Khan started the shop, she said, because “my husband was tired of my children’s book collection taking over the house. Reading and teaching have always been loves of mine. Literacy is a foundation of all education going forward.”
Jack & Allie’s works with the Vernon Public Schools and stays on top of all summer reading lists and programs. But Khan’s customer base extends far beyond Vernon.
“Parents in the area are interested in what their children are reading, and they ask a lot of questions because they want some guidance,” said Khan. “My favorite part of this is when a parent says, ‘My child doesn’t like to read’ and I find something for them and they come back the next week and say, ‘Oh my gosh, he loved it and wants the next one.'”
Millennials Returning
Vanessa Gronbach, owner of Bank Street Book Nook in New Milford, is a lawyer by trade and a relative newcomer to the indie book business, having bought her established shop two years ago. “Law is my career but books are my passion and I am very lucky to be able to do both,” said Gronbach, whose husband, David Gronbach, is New Milford’s current mayor.
She’s noticed that sales have slightly increased since she took over the shop.
“It’s still a real struggle to stay open,” says Gronbach. “I think certain areas do better because people have started to realize the value in shopping local versus big box stores. We, myself and the women who work for me, have a real love for books and we want everyone to be just as excited about it as we are. We get to give suggestions and help people finds books they didn’t know existed or that they needed. The big boxes cannot give you that.”
Though her shop carries New York Times best sellers and other suggested book lists, Gronbach favors finding books that are unique and intriguing, such as “Shucked” by Erin Byers Murray, about a woman who left the corporate life to raise oysters; and “Factory Man” by Beth Macy, the story of the Bassett furniture company, as well as, for the kids, the “Indestructibles” series (“they’re chew proof, rip proof and washable”).
Keilty believes the future for indie bookshops is brighter than nay-sayers would have it.
“It’s a good sign that younger people are getting into the business,” she said. “Ten years ago, you’d see a lot of gray hair at book conventions and conferences. Now you’re surrounded by young, vibrant energy. It’s a lifestyle these young people want. Who knows what five years from now will bring, but then it has never been an occupation that will make you a ton of money. Still, it’s a satisfying one.”
