There's No Business LIke Snow Business

Last week, we had to take Tuesday off because of snow. There was to be a picture of the aftermath of that event, but this version of Blogger isn't being agreeable.  Anyway, it was of a huge pile of snow that got plowed in front of the store.  Fortunately, it was a minor snow event and the snow pile is not too big.  Previous events led to piles of over six feet high and twelve yards long.  This is one reason why we usually don't have book signings in the winter.  However, this year is an exception.  On Saturday, February 24, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm we will have David Deskins in signing his updated and revised edition of his history of Pike county, Ginseng, Coal Dust, and Moving Mountains:  a History of Pike County.  We will also have Judge John David Preston in with of selection of books, including his The Civil War in the Big Sandy Valley.  Deskins' book was originally scheduled for last fall, but got delayed.  It is currently scheduled to be published in mid-February, but further delays are possible.  As such, the event may be delayed as well, possibly due to weather as well.  We will be offering more information as it becomes available, so check here or on our Facebook site frequently, as we will set up a page for the event soon.  See you next week.

Something New on the Horizon

Next week, we will be making a huge announcement about our next author signing event.  A few more details need to be worked out beforehand, so we can't say anything for a little while longer.  Usually, we don't schedule such events during the winter.  The odds of having to reschedule are just too great.  However, this will be late enough in the year that we hope this won't happen.  At least, we don't think it will happen.  Anyway, we will reveal it next week, both here and on our Facebook page.  In fact, we will probably reveal it there first and have greater details here during our regular post. Due to the possibility of bad weather, again, this week's post is being written early and should pop up at our regular Saturday morning slot.  Just a reminder, we might not be open in bad weather, so call ahead first.  We can't always post in time that we might not open at the normal time.  See you next week.

The Depths of Winter

During this time of year, we might not open up on time, or even open at all, due to the weather or other factors.  If conditions are slightly bad, Booknotes might open over an hour later than posted.  If it is very bad, we won't open at all.  Furthermore, there is a good chance that we won't be able to post this change online, especially if it was an unplanned delay.   Usually, if we know we will be opening late, we will post this change online with ample opportunity before it happens.  Sometimes, we cannot.  We do try.  Also, the weather might force us to close early as well.  There is no way we can warn anyone that this might happen.  Your best bet is to always call beforehand.  This time of year, we normally close a few minutes early anyway due to temperatures and daylight.  It is always best to call first if you are planning to come by near closing time, so we can stay a few minutes late for you.  These warnings about the weather also apply to our online content.  Some days, we will be late posting this blog or any other information, such as today when all available computers were down.  By warned, and be on the lookout for changes in our schedule.

Another Year Done

We weren't planning on doing a year in review, but we couldn't think of anything else.   The highlight of the year was the Adrianna Trigiani book signing back in July.  We had a few hitches, but it turned out well enough.  We expanded our content on Facebook, with capsule reviews and more pictures.  We still haven't completely fixed our problems with Google + though.  We have yet to expand into online sales, on any platform.  We had to cut back somewhat on our products.  We have experimented on our website, changing its look at times.  We haven't added any new reviews to the site, yet.  All in all, it wasn't that great of a year, but we are still trying.  Hopefully, 2018 will bring better changes to Booknotes.   By doing this, we hope to improve the Pikeville area as well.  Thanks to all of our friends, customers, and followers.  See you next week, and next year.

It Still Looks Like Christmas

In case you missed it on social media, Booknotes is not online due to circumstance beyond our control, from Thursday, December 21 through Tuesday, December 26.  This means we cannot answer email or check on our social media messages. You can still call us during regular business hours.   Fortunately, we were able to write this week's blog early and schedule it to post at its regular time.  However, this also means we cannot change the website's motif back from Christmas.  That is alright though, because we don't change the store's decorations out that soon, either.  Traditionally, we start the year-end inventory the day after Christmas.  Although we still do it by hand, we have developed a system that gets it done fairly fast.  We forego taking all the decorations down until we finish.  This can leave the store looking a little messy and chaotic, but it still works for us.  Expect a few messages to pop up on Facebook, too, during this time we are offline.  Things will get back to normal next week, probably.  See you then.

It's the Thought That Counts

So, someone suddenly asks you for a book for Christmas, but our order deadline has passed.  What do you do?  First, you could try to order it anyway.  We can't guarantee that the book would be available at our distributor's warehouse, but we could try.  Even then, you would have to pay a $50 fee to make sure it would be delivered in time.  That would probably be more than what the book would cost.  Second, you could get something already in stock.  While we only have a small selection of books, they do cover a wide variety of subjects and genres.  While you might not find exactly what you are looking for, we can help you find something somewhat close.  Remember, many of our books are on discount.  Third, you could purchase a gift certificate.  Although somewhat generic, it would be an actual gift.  You could get one for the amount of the book, or something a little more or less, and we would order it with our next regular shipment just after the holidays (Christmas and New Year's) to make sure we get it in.  This way, you won't have to change the certificate in case the person changes their mind or gets the book some other way.  So, you do have options.  Come back next week for a special Christmas post.

Christmas Deadlines Are Coming

It is time to explain Booknotes policy on Christmas orders.  We use two main distributors to get our books.  Our regular distributor takes about two days for an order to arrive, once placed.  However, it sometimes doesn't have all the books we need.  For those books, we use a second distributor. It has a slightly different selection, especially with harder to find titles.  Usually, books from them arrive within two days, as well, but only if we use our primary warehouse.  If we have to use a secondary location, the delivery times can go up to four days.  Because of this, we set the last day for regular orders about five days before Christmas.  Since Christmas falls on a Monday this year, this means two less days for deliveries.  Hence, the December 18 deadline.  Orders placed before 11:00 am on Wednesday, December 20, can still be delivered on time from our regular distributor, but only if they are stock.  You would have to pay a small shipping and handling fee, though, if we didn't get a minimum order. In fact, we technically could place orders at late as 11:00 am on Thursday, December 21, but we would have to add a large fee to make sure it would be delivered on time.  This is why we strongly urge our customers to come in early to place their orders.  See you next week with more views of Christmas.