Finding a Destination Bookstore in New England Just Got Easier for Tourists

Feb. 3, 2009 - PRLog -- New England Bookstore Publishing is releasing its first book this spring, A Vacationer’s Guide to Rural New England Bookstores, which according to its author, Richard Wright of Jefferson MA, is a combination travel guide and memoir devoted to a his love of books, bookstores and reading. The book highlights 25 of Wright’s favorite New England rural booksellers with the intention of helping tourists and vacationer’s to identify a destination bookstore. A companion website was launched to keep the book current: http://www.GuideToNewEnglandBookstores.com. It was recently launched to provide updates about the bookstores and a forum for readers to discuss the issues facing the small bookseller today.

Wright, 58, of Jefferson, MA has converted a lifetime avocation of book-reading and book-collecting into a mini-cause to save what he describes as a threatened species: namely, the rural bookseller. Wright’s background in marketing, printing and publishing over the past 30 years has drawn him to take action by writing a book about his favorite rural New England bookstores, which he recommends are worthy of a tourist’s visit while on vacation in New England.

Wright has written about the plight of the rural New England bookstore being everyone’s problem, not just the bookseller. Wright said, “The successful and appealing local booksellers are the ones that merge the online sale of books with the brick and mortar attractions. Where necessary, the local, rural New England bookstore offers the CD’s, the café, the wi-fi and other modern accoutrements that allow them to compete with the chain and box versions of the old-fashioned, rural, neighborhood bookstore; all this without sacrificing the sometimes esoteric, charming, personal touch many of us enjoy at the local, rural New England bookshop.”

One-Day Bookstore Tour
Following the lead provided by one Vermont bookshop, Wright has added a series of “one-day” bookstore tours for visitors to use in planning a personalized itinerary of bookshop stops. “On its website, The Book Shed, of Benson, VT, owned by Joseph Trenn, suggested four bookstores to visit on a single day,” said Wright. “This gave me the idea to assemble several more “one-day” adventures for the serious bibliophile,” he added.

Not satisfied with describing the stores, the owners and the inventory, Wright’s book takes the reader on a brief tour of vacations, road-trips and excursions over the years, which were the opportunities for him to find and visit these stores for the first time. Some of his visits to the stores go back decades when he was a child growing up in New England, while others were only discovered in the past few years. The book is designed as a companion for the vacationer heading into New England. With book in hand, Wright claims it’s easy to find a quaint, locally-owned, rural bookseller within a 30 to 45 minute drive from the premier vacation destinations of the region.

The book is broken up into several major regional sections, centered on key vacation and tourist destinations, such as the Maine coast, the New Hampshire Mountains and Cape Cod. For the avid reader, according to Wright, the vacation experience is always enhanced when the hidden-treasure of an esoteric, local bookstore is nearby – providing you can find it. Wright’s book lists the stores, websites, addresses, directions and a description of its character and book selections.

Saving Independent Bookstores
Recently, on his blog, Wright commented on how the book and website got started. In a blog entry on December 31, 2008, Wright wrote, “…. it seems every few weeks, I come across articles on the internet from various newspapers around the country about another independent bookstore closing. Once in a while a chain-store shop closes, but more often than not, it’s an independent. The story always has similar threads. The owner of many years has seen a steady decline in sales without hope of reversing the trend. Frequently, there is no one else in the family interested in continuing the business. Attempts to sell have failed and the final decision is to close.”

As for the future of local bookstores, it’s not all bad news, according to Wright. He said, “The strength of these local independents rests in their location, their commitment to stocking what the community is looking for, their creativity in inventory and presentation, all of which, keep the customers coming back. It’s a place to satisfy the need to hold a book in your hand, surprise yourself with a used book at a tremendous bargain and a place where you can maintain a bit of community contact, not otherwise likely to happen at the chain stores.”

Wright cited an article last year in USA Today, which selected nine bookstores across the country that it considered worthy as a tourist’s destination. The article asked the question, “When is a bookstore worth a tourist’s time”? The answer was “When it’s more than just a place where you can buy books.” Wright said that although they didn’t mention any stores in New England, he was sure he knew of at least 25 that were worthy of a vacationer’s visit. That’s why he wrote the book.

# # #

About: New England Bookstore Publishing: Recently published a new travel book for tourists in New England seeking a "destination bookstore" as part of a vacation itinerary. A companion website: http://www.GuideToNewEnglandBookstores.com provides a forum for readers to discuss the fate of vanishing independent bookstores and Wright's suggestions for "one-day" bookstore tours outlined on the website.