Preamble--or a view from the owner's desk.

It's with great pleasure and little fanfare that I introduce our new blog, a melting pot of thoughts and musings, reviews and recommendations, news and event announcements on the subjects we love best here at Books Etc.: Books and Authors! Contributors will be our fabulous team of booksellers, a diverse group of veterans and emerging leaders of the Southern Maine bookselling world.

We are indeed in challenging times, all cutting or conserving in some way as the economy lurches (do I dare call it) forward in fits and starts and stops. In the same way, many people wanting a book might consider their options especially in ways to save. The question becomes, "why should I purchase a book at a locally owned independent bookstore, especially when I have to pay a few dollars more?" Because if you purchase the book at a Seattle based mega online retailer (c'mon, you know the one I mean), you may save a couple of bucks, but you have sent every dollar of that purchase out of Greater Portland and out of this great state of Maine. In these economically harsh times, we need to think of our local communities first, and sending all of your money out of state does little for the community. With all the money leaving town who is going to pay for the roads on which the UPS truck rolls delivering your package? Who is going to patronize the local banks, ad agencies, lawyers, doctors, and restaurants? Who is going to bring you authors and book fairs, and who is going to contribute to the local PTO fund raiser or the local library?

This morning I heard a colleague of mine, Mitchell Kaplan, a bookseller extraordinaire from Miami who organizes the Miami Book Fair. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the fair, NPR interviewed him, and when asked why he remains optimistic in these ever so competetive and challenging times of bookselling, with huge chains and online retailing, he responded that we independent booksellers are selling the past, and by doing so, we bring comfort as one of the many added values that we offer. Comfort. Mmm. Now doesn't that sound like something we can all use this holiday season?