Parnassus Books

[Anamnesis]

The co-owner? Ann Patchett, author of Bel Canto.

“I have no interest in retail; I have no interest in opening a bookstore,” Ms. Patchett said, serenely sipping tea during a recent interview at her spacious pink brick house here. “But I also have no interest in living in a city without a bookstore.”

Ms. Patchett is well aware that brick-and-mortar bookstores are closing regularly under pressure from online sales and e-books. The American Booksellers Association, a trade group, currently has about 1,900 independent bookstores as members, down from about 2,400 in 2002.

But she is aspiring to join a small band of bookstore owners who have found patches of old-fashioned success in recent years, competing where Amazon cannot: by being small and sleek, with personal service, intimate author events and a carefully chosen rotation of books.

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[Peder]

"...by being small and sleek, with personal service, intimate author events and a carefully chosen rotation of books. "

I wish her well. Apart from author events, that pretty well describes a small bookstore that I was always impressed with and where I always found more books than I could buy.

However, what should succeed doesn't always -- hopes frequently running ahead of sober consderation, and business risks being what they are -- so I doubly wish her well. All fingers crossed for her.