Dear Friends,

       There are some changes in the air here at Walk a Crooked Mile Books. The first and most immediate one is that we cancelled the concert by the Philly Saxophone Quartet scheduled for tonight. We are just so soggy here and a threat of more rain today and tomorrow was just too much. We still have more concerts in the series- see our calendar for details.

      The second change is that we are going to open later on Monday Tuesday Thursday and Friday - at 7.a.m. and that we will be CLOSED ON WEDNESDAYS. For some time now, I've felt like the faster I pedalled the further behind I became. Also, I am 62 now and my muscles, joints, bursa, etc. are all telling me that I am not a young buck and I can't be carrying books six days a week with only one day of rest. Cynthia, wiser than I, is totally on board and interested in a more sane life for us. So, in the interest of being able to work longer, I'm going to try and work smarter. So our new hours are:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 7 a.m- 6:30 p.m.

Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

CLOSED SUNDAY & WEDNESDAY

     The third change is actually related to the first two. For some time, several people have urged me to explore the possibility of moving the shop from our beloved train station and this wonderful neighborhood to the location where Borders of Chestnut Hill closed two years ago. I thought they were crazy. But, I'm reconsidering. Here's what I'm thinking:

     The recent heavy rains that have put a foot or more of water in the basement twice in two weeks leads me to think that books will become more vulnerable in this little valley with a big drainage problem that I don't see SEPTA fixing. I think that Global Warming is indeed causing more radical weather and heavier rains. In the last two weeks, I estimate that we lost about 2500 books. Now they were mostly paperback overstock, but they still could have been resold and thus reused.

     I am full to the gill with very good books. There is a crying need for a place where people can find good homes for the books they so love. In essence, we have become a recycling center where we do just that - try to find good homes for as many books as we can. I try to treat all books as valuable. Some books are valuable and collectible, most aren't. Some books aren't worth a lot of money but deserve another life and this we bring in the shop.  Some books are unlikely to sell here so we put them out in the free pile. There most get reused rather than going into the recyling flow. This is a good thing and I'm committed to that and proud of how we care for books. I'm clearly committed to the world of reading and the mind and I think our culture needs used bookstores to protect this world. I'm aware that ebooks are changing the game and I'm not a luddite opposed to them. In fact, I lust for an Ibook. But I'm pretty sure that digital books won't eliminate paper books. I have had lots of conversations with lots of people who think books have so much going for them. Paradoxically, one of my best group of customers are the 20 and 30 somethings who were weaned on computers. Many of them still read books and love my shop.

     I also have always been committed to creating a place that fosters community. That is why we put so much energy into our concert series, our yard sales, and the bookstore. Now, the very number of books coming my way works against having the kind of room for community that a store like Border's provided. One of my customers turned me on to a column in the Inquirer this week by Karen Heller about the need, in our larger community, for a place where community can be nourished. You can read her article here. I love what she has to say.

    So, given that: the train statioin is not big enough and dry enough for books in the long run, there is an abundance of good books available to my store, and that there is a need for the kind of bookstore that is big enough to foster community and my proclivity for nurturing that kind of community, I've been talking to Glen Bergman, general manager of Weaver's Way Coop about the possibility of creating a coop that somehow transforms the Borders store into a community bookstore that is good for books, good for community, that nurtures the arts and music, and that works economically. I've got enough books to stock the store. We might want to also sell new books and somehow tap into ebooks. All these are huge questions and we don't know if it is feasbile but we're talking. If this idea interests you, let me know and we'll include you in the conversation.

    If this idea were to come to fruition, I envision that taking several years or more. In the meantime, we're staying open in a more sane way. Cynthia and I will also be exploring other options for our future - if you have any ideas, let us know.

Come visit - buy some of those great books that are crowding our store.

Greg and Cynthia