For the third installment of our local holiday shopping series, we spoke on Wednesday afternoon to Elm Street Books owner Susan Rein and manager Manda Riggs.
Here’s our interview.
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Manda Riggs on “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans ($28): “This has gotten a lot of press. It’s a book that she tried to sell, couldn’t get anyone to buy it and then finally at the eleventh hour they took it, and now the thing is on bestseller lists. It’s great. It’s all written in letters. It’s about an older woman who lives in Maryland. It’s an awesome story. You could literally give it to anybody.” Photo credit: Michael Dinan
New Canaanite: I know it’s early in the holiday shopping season, but how’s it going so far?
Susan Rein: It’s going. We had a great Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Getting lots of people in. My hope is it continues that way.
What do you plan for the Holiday Stroll?
We’ll be open and people will be able to shop late. We’ll put out some cookies as in years past.
Manda Riggs on “The American Revolution” by Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns ($80): “We are getting this back in stock. We’re getting 50 of them. It’s the companion to the docuseries by Ken Burns. We sold 10 copies in two days. So my guess is we’ll get more in tomorrow [on Thursday, Dec. 4].” Photo credit: Michael Dinan
I think it’s great. It’s hard to figure out where to park for free, but I think what they’ve done makes the spaces turn over much more readily. That’s great. Also, doing it when the restaurants took their tables in made a big difference, and we got probably four more parking spaces out here. That was good timing. But I do think people pay attention and the parking people are giving them tickets. I got one — they got me dead to rights.
Manda Riggs on “The Gales of November” by John U. Bacon ($35): “This is about the Edmund Fitzgerald. It’s good nonfiction for a history buff. Anyone who doesn’t like fiction would like this. It’s more male-driven, I would say.” Photo credit: Michael Dinan
What would you say about Elm Street Books to people who haven’t had a chance to experience your shop?
We have book sellers that read everything and they will tell you exactly what they think, which is—I think—refreshing. We have a good book buyer that covers so much of what people in town want. And it’s interesting to predict what people in town like. It’s not the same as it was 10 years ago.