tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52527504269021874262009-12-20T22:18:00.309-05:00Blog of Janet Loveland, owner of Cranesbill Books in Chelsea Michigan.Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-13171012455355594902009-12-09T07:37:00.003-05:002009-12-09T08:14:46.405-05:00

Now that I find my days at Cranesbill Books dwindling, I'm officially in transition, but that's okay. Anywhere is better than the places I've been in since I last blogged.On January 20, 2009, I thought that I would be nudging the bookstore along forever. On December 9, 2009, I'm only two days away from being an ex-retailer, having liquidated most of my stock and announced the impending finale

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-52249627142780476542009-01-20T08:07:00.002-05:002009-02-21T07:23:11.490-05:00

At A Moment of TransformationWhen I stood behind the counter in the days approaching the holidays, I was so honored to hear your comments about the value of my store in this community. A month earlier, in the dog days of October and November, I had seriously wondered whether the struggle was worth it. Lots of small businesses have given up, especially bookstores. How could I ever survive?Most

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-56901136873295680812008-12-13T08:41:00.002-05:002008-12-13T08:45:16.939-05:00

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The Christmas music says so. The store is plugging along, thanks to your generous support. There are peppermint candies and candy canes and lots of festive touches, and my own personal crusade to get my own cards and packages out with a little time to sleep, eat and do laundry added in. It would be perfect if I didn’t find myself giving in to the fear of

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-80010239594502697512008-11-12T23:51:00.001-05:002008-11-13T00:10:37.279-05:00

Okay, let me start by saying that in my reading life I’ve specialized in reading about Michigan. I was obsessed with the beauty of the tip of the mitt and while I only got to be there for three months a year, it was where my heart lived year-round. Where Michigan books are concerned, I’m a bit obsessed. My latest favorite is not exactly fiction, but instead a wonderful memoir written by local

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-12168269275027009162008-09-17T14:19:00.001-04:002008-09-17T14:23:16.763-04:00

This blog was originally titled “Late Summer Reading Part II” but obviously, I’m a bit late getting this one posted. After I wrote the first summer reading blog, I have taken book reviewing seriously and I have been reading as though I owed my English teacher back-to-school book reports. But hey, it’s still summer until next week, even if the beach in the rainy September weather just isn’t the

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-19222937551467122022008-08-01T07:51:00.002-04:002008-08-01T07:55:15.792-04:00

Blog # 7July 28, 2008Mitch Ryder Makes My Summer, One That's Slipping By Too QuicklyOkay, it’s true. I couldn’t think of a clever name for this blog entry. Meanwhile, the summertime is sneaking past me far too quickly. And it’s hard to stay focused on summer when August is the month when the back-to-school and Christmas seasons begin in earnest for the store. Buyers come in; we stock up; the

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-89762392854158392472008-06-27T15:50:00.000-04:002008-06-27T15:52:04.896-04:00

Summer ReadingIn my school, you had a summer reading list. There was no question that you were expected to keep up over the summer, and as I got older, more and more reading was to be chosen from the listings and then consumed. The favorite reads were easy to tackle, but there was always that one book that I dreaded. Which titles, you ask? Anything by Sir Walter Scott, but other than that, I

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-83374150783498618222008-06-13T05:02:00.001-04:002008-06-13T05:04:41.419-04:00

Whatever Happened To My Blog?It’s been a little more than three months since I wrote my last blog. I feel guilty as I am writing this, and yet, there is a reason, or a cluster of reasons why this space went dark in April and May. If you are reading this now, and are willing to read on, thank you for bearing with me.The role of a bookstore owner is one that most people think of as ideal. I know

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-90542583329274074402008-03-09T14:57:00.002-04:002008-03-09T15:00:22.059-04:00

Since the first of the year, I have been running in so many directions at once that I am not meeting my self-imposed blog quota of weekly blurbs. Things change. Change is good. But change is also really exhausting. This time last year, we were just reeling from the news of Pfizer's leaving Ann Arbor. So one year later, the “news” that we are in a recession is hardly worth elevating one's blood

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-88771911904039813232008-02-29T11:06:00.001-05:002008-03-09T14:57:00.041-04:00

It was just a few days after Valentines Day when I saw the news on WDIV. Webster School in Livonia had been destroyed by a suspicious fire. I thought about what that would mean for the kids and teachers and parents who would have to salvage the last few months of school. I also thought about the time when a fire killed the family of a boy in kindergarten at my school, and about how for months

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-1762975275863068602008-02-18T03:28:00.003-05:002008-02-18T04:26:58.301-05:00

If you must know, when we opened Cranesbill Books as a holiday store in October of 2003, we were taking on one of the biggest and most demanding jobs that I had ever attempted. And I was now the owner, a job that was so complex that I was completely terrified of getting it right, especially because all of it was new to me. I had never been in business before, and I knew nothing of the

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-21880613501069838182008-02-04T14:14:00.000-05:002008-02-04T14:17:18.653-05:00

Well, for those of you who have been reading the blog since it began last year, my silence has been for good reason. After four years of being the proprietor of Cranesbill, the beginning of 2008 became a moment of change in direction. As you are reading this, those changes involve a new management team, a revamped second floor, an ambitious schedule of events for the immediate future, and a

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-60778254760968900442007-12-31T12:51:00.000-05:002007-12-31T13:06:01.808-05:00

Hello to all of you who are cleaning up the remains of your Christmas. To those who helped make this a solid Christmas season for Cranesbill, many thanks for your support of the local independent bookstore … I assume that whatever the “stuff” you got or gave, the real holiday is not in the stuff, but in the experience of being part of a family.Meanwhile, we are getting ready for a new year at

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-5519125648104617802007-11-30T11:50:00.000-05:002007-11-30T11:54:38.397-05:00

Kids need protecting, and stores that sell toys need a good information chain to help in the protection processIt should be a no-brainer to find toys that are trustworthy, but instead this year the whole realm of playthings seems to have settled under a cloud that would put our Michigan winter shade of grey overcast to shame. Anyone who sells toys as I do knows what I mean. While the Consumer

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-39280973402404987982007-11-16T14:41:00.000-05:002007-11-16T14:42:19.905-05:00

I can't quite bring myself to write about Christmas yet. Not that I haven't been rightly accused of blabbing on and on about the end of past years; I have a file of old paper Cranesbill Chronicles somewhere to prove my point. I love what happens in our town, even if I have to admit that it's not always as perfect as it could be.When I took on the store in 2003, I knew virtually nothing at all

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-23105219036387573652007-11-06T10:21:00.000-05:002007-11-06T10:25:54.766-05:00

Maybe it’s because the weather has been so balmy, but it’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks away, with Christmas following in its footsteps by only a little. Even though I agree with those in the media who have been complaining about the early appearance of holiday wares in retail stores, for the retailers, it’s been Christmas since August. That’s the point at which we

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-74887500918747040732007-10-15T09:25:00.000-04:002007-10-15T09:27:00.021-04:00

On October 18, Cranesbill Books hosts an event that is really special. Never mind that the 16th is our 4th anniversary of opening the new store at 108 East Middle Street, although there will be some joy on my part that this milestone has been reached. The occasion is the publication of From the Vine: Exploring Michigan Wineries, a new book that is co-authored by Chelsea author Sharon Kegerreis

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-55215999176194820412007-10-08T13:28:00.000-04:002007-10-08T13:40:38.431-04:00

The week that has passed since I returned from the annual meeting of the Great Lakes Booksellers Association has flown by. Now trade shows are usually of greatest interest to those in the profession being served; the jargon in any profession can be off-putting; what passes for hilarious humor can more often than not fall flat among the “civilian” population. And what could be more expected from

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-40305508446830008792007-09-26T12:58:00.000-04:002007-09-26T13:00:08.421-04:00

This is about the time of year when, one year ago, the Cranesbill Books toy department was launched. We were working on instinct and sheer nerve,trying to provide things that parents and kids would love. This led us to a conversation about what we did not want to stock: expensive toys with little redeeming value, guns, and toys that could pose some difficulties in staying in stock. Over the

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-30347802833288586572007-09-23T12:12:00.000-04:002007-09-23T12:17:20.614-04:00

The point of writing about a type of fiction is usually to define a category, but if that’s what you expect to read here, you will be disappointed. Chick Lit is one of those slippery categories: you could argue that it’s just a recent phenomenon, that relates only to younger women of the nineties and the first decade of the 21st century. But having read authors writing about women’s lives from

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-26841970245793211132007-08-11T20:54:00.000-04:002007-09-14T12:56:05.855-04:00

About ten days ago I started this general introduction to my first-ever blog entry. I pretty much captured my feelings at the time, but in my haste to put it up on our website, the phantom of AOL whooshed by and in no time at all, my words were washed out to sea, or lost in the internet zone, and I sat here at my desk, dazzled by the total evaporation of my efforts, perhaps thinking to myself

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5252750426902187426.post-53795185138452061442007-07-01T14:13:00.000-04:002007-09-14T12:56:49.349-04:00

Each year, at the very end of May, flocks of booksellers fly toward a common point on their horizons to attend Book Expo America. As the annual gathering of independent bookstores around the country, BEA brings together book publishers, toy manufacturers, buyers and owners of retail stores like ours, and authors who have become celebrities for bookworms like us. This year, in New York City,

Jan Lovelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01275086402121085617noreply@blogger.com0