Bookselling News: Books, Coffee & Weddings

by John Mutter and Kevin Howell, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 1/5/2005

Walking down the aisles at Barnes & Noble takes on new meaning.

B&N has the best singles scene in New York City, according to a recent American Express survey of 1,003 New Yorkers between the ages of 25 to 35.

Noting that the company has allowed some couples who met in its stores to be married in them, B&N spokesperson Mary Ellen Keating said she was not surprised by the survey results.

After 25 years in business, the Ark, a Christian bookstore in North Austin, Tex., is closing, according to News8Austin. Ark president Kevin Brown blamed a flood of competition from secular stores such as Wal-Mart and Target.

And now a happier Christian bookstore story:

Owned and operated by Tom and Kristy Nickell with help from their six children, Bethany Book Room in Bethany, Ky., is benefiting bigtime from home schooling. "We used to sell craft items, but I've found a different draw now--home school supplies," Tom Nickell told the Winchester Sun. "We've shifted a big emphasis to home-school supplies. Clark County per capita has the highest home-school population in Kentucky I'm told."

The store celebrated its 60th anniversary in December.