Ep. 98: Behind the Scenes of Opening a New Indie Bookstore (with the Founders of The Book and Cover)

<h2>Highlights</h2> <ul> <li>Blaes and Emily talk about balancing this new venture alongside their full-time day jobs.</li> <li>How the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their decision.</li> <li>How their community played an incredible role in the first big steps.</li> <li>Between an Instagram account and a Google Doc, the simple beginnings of this endeavor.</li> <li>Going from their ‘dream space’ to their ‘dream location’.</li> <li>The role social media plays in their book buying.</li> <li>How the book-buying experience feels like a first date with publishers.</li> <li>Scarves and enamel pins and notecards, oh my!  How they approached including bookish merchandise at the store.</li> <li>Looking at backlist titles versus new releases.</li> <li>The driving factor behind knowing how many of a particular book to order.</li> <li>The way they were able to get a great sense of the reading tastes of their community.</li> </ul> <h2>Book Recommendations from Blaes, Emily, and Sarah <a class="spp-timestamp">[36:14]</a></h2> <p><strong>Two OLD Books She Loves</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong>Emily:</strong> <a href="https://amzn.to/3wkI9IT">Rules of Civility</a> by Amor Towles | <a href= "https://amzn.to/3wkI9IT">Buy from Amazon</a> | <a href= "https://bookshop.org/a/24569/9780143121169">Buy from Bookshop.org</a><strong><img src= "https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sarsbooshe04-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B01BD1SSO4" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /></strong><strong><img src= "http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sarsbooshe04-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00N6PCZO0" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /></strong><strong><img src= "https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=sarsbooshe04-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B015LYZH20" alt="" width="1" height="1" border="0" /></strong> <a class= "spp-timestamp">[37:22]</a></li> <li><strong>Emily:</strong> <a href="https://amzn.to/3bFTB8k">The Heart’s Invisible Furies</a> by John Boyne | <a href= "https://amzn.to/3bFTB8k">Buy from Amazon</a> | <a href= "https://bookshop.org/a/24569/9781524760793">Buy from Bookshop.or