I believe in books. For exploring new country, there's nothing better than a good guidebook. Let someone else experience the unmaintained trails. Let someone else find the remote trailheads for you. Let someone else put all that discovery into print.
The price I pay for a good guidebook is just a tiny fraction of the value of the experience it facilitates. Talk about payback time! I pay $12.95 for a guidebook and I get a $100 experience.
That's our slogan: "Read. Go. Discover."
Want to hike North Shore streams? There's a book for that.
Want to identify North Shore wildflowers? There's a book for that, too.
But where do you find these books? The publishers can be tiny or even out of business. They print like 500 of these and then disappear. You need a motivated local book seller.
There are a few stores in the area that do a particularly good job finding and stocking a wide range of North Shore guidebooks.
Lake Superior Trading Post, Grand Marais. Eric Humphreys goes out of his way to keep a full stock of interesting North Shore titles. He works closely with authors and publishers to keep books in stock.
Northern Lights Books and Gifts, Duluth. Anita Zager and her crew have a real passion for the North Shore and Lake Superior. While they specialize in shipping titles, they also have a great selection of natural history and trail guidebooks. They support local authors with events and product placement.
I enjoy working with all stores in the area. Our books are carried by retailers from the Twin Cities to Grand Portage. If you're a book seller and you're looking to improve your North Shore book stock (not just There and Back Books), let me know and I'll give you some ideas of things to stock. The more the merrier!
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3 comments:
Thanks for the shout out- both this post and the icon! Really glad you're able to come in to the store tomorrow; it's my day off, but I'm going to do my best to stop in and say hello!
I'm partial to the Minnesota Historical Society Museum Store at Split Rock; I work at Split Rock. My wife is responsible for the back-of-the-book index for several current titles; from MHS Press, U of M Press, and Adventure Publications.
Also the Cross River Heritage Center at Schroeder; I know what to expect from local authors, having help with annual inventory.
Solbakken Resort at Lutsen has a jam-packed bookstore.
My favorite in Grand Marais is Drury Lane.
I'd forgotten all about Solbakken and their bookstore. They used to promote their books on their highway sign. Nice to know the O'Phelans are keeping up the tradition.
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