We’ve got our April Monthly Wrap Up ready to go over the past month’s business wins, our April reading and what we’re planning to read in May.
Bookselling Lessons
This past month in the bookselling course we learned about a day in the life of a bookseller, how to handsell, the shape of your store and how to curate your inventory. Now since I don’t have a physical store, these lessons had to be approached as theories of what I think I would do. My homework assignments have definitely led to me connecting with other shop owners more to get advice and learn from them.
For my handselling homework, I connected with the Facebook Booksellers – 1 Person Indies group to see how other bookstore owners sell merch. What sales techniques do their customer’s respond to? And how do they prefer to sell? Lots of mentions of shelf talkers, handselling directly and displays. My final project is going to be a display and I’m still trying to figure out what my theme should be. Also, I need to figure out how to put the display together…ask the library if they’ll let me put up a temporary display or print out fake books and make the display at home.
My personal project on the site has been to work on the SEO. Trying to see if I can fix the SEO and increase my chances of Google approving my Adsense account. So I added in a SEO attachment, Yoast SEO, to help me fix my posts. I also joined Wincher to see what my Google ranking is and follow the fluctuations. It’s been interesting to see the movements.
On the last day of April I decided to create a LinkedIn page, you know to officially add the experience to my personal page. I also, finally joined ABA, to continue learning and figure out how to get pop-up events started. We’re moving slow and steady over here to make purposeful moves.
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
Alecia, Wallflower Bookshop Owner
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
If you love The Princess Bride and wish Buttercup had been the hero, this is the book for you! Leaving home for the first time to save your best friend, risking your life through many trials and discovering your own ingenuity. A great read for all ages; and a rare Brandon Sanderson stand alone.
April Reads
Here are my finished April 2024 Reads. I’d planned on reading 6 books in April, to sort of calm down on how much I was reading. And keep on track with having at least 1 book review posted on the site each week. I must say it was a lovely breath of fresh air. I was even able to add a 7th book!
Shopkeeping: Stories, Advice and Observations by Peter Miller
Part memoir with tips and tricks for shopkeepers, from a 40+ year veteran bookshop owner. Heartwarming book that was very inspiring – made me so ready to own my own physical bookshop and be part of a community.
A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur
A woman goes in search of her missing sister, who’s been taken by a tyrannical King. She partners with the King’s brother to overthrow the government and save her sister. This historical fiction was interesting to read and find out at the end of the book how much of it was based on real events.
James by Percival Everett
Loved reading this book and seeing what Jim, the enslaved man from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was going through between the margins. Jim as protagonist was so eye opening and poignant. It was great getting to see more story to fill in the gaps of Huckleberry Finn. Next time I read this book, I think I’ll read it in tandem with Huckleberry Finn’s book.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
A witch, living a solitary life where she must keep her powers secret, is hired on as a magic teacher for 3 young orphan girls. Hijinks and romance ensue.
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
Historical fiction about a girl who has succeeded in getting a coveted spot in the highest ranking military school in the kingdom. She is a fish out of water, as she’s never lived in the same society as her new classmates. She must learn about society, hierarchies and her new powers in the midst of a new approaching war.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
Two writers meet at a book conference and fall in love. Fall in love again, because unbeknownst to anyone around them, they knew each other when they were teenagers and spent a turbulent week together 15 years ago. The mystery of their separation and the slow burn of their second chance romance will keep you turning the pages.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Daphne and Miles are roommates pretending to date, in order to make their exes jealous. Their exes, Peter and Petra, who were childhood friends, that realized they were in love with each other and not Daphne or Miles. Fake dating shouldn’t cause too many issues, because Daphne plans on moving away. But what if she’s exactly where she needs to be – with her dream job, new friends and Miles?
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Alecia, Wallflower Bookshop Owner
⭐⭐⭐
Justin and Emma both seem to be cursed, they keep dating people who go on to meet their soulmates right after they break up with them. They meet, via Reddit, and decide to break their curses by dating each other, just for the summer, and then break up. But what if they’re already the perfect pair.
May TBR List
Looking forward to my May TBR List and continuing to keep my reading diverse and inclusive with a 75:25 ratio.
I actually had a whole different list of books until last night when a large amount of library books became available all at once. This is what comes from joining another library last month. And the second library allows way more holds than my original library.
Some of these books have been on my TBR for a long time (Mexican Gothic), while others only made it to the list last week (Legendborn). So excited to read through these genres, Romance, YA Fantasy and Romantasy. Hopefully lighthearted reads for the unofficial kickoff to summer.
What are you reading this month? Let me know in the comments.