We recently set up a project meant to achieve blockbuster/bestseller status. In reality, it’s more like a fairy tale–and not in a good way.
Long story short: We bought and assembled special sets for book discussion groups. Named Book Club Carryouts, these 10-volume packages consist of primarily new, mostly hardback titles ranked very favorably by critics and book club sites. We even chose snazzy Ikea carryalls instead of the droopy canvas tote bags we’ve seen other places. These portable treasures look fabulous! In fact, they have a Rapunzel-like quality–so lovely that you’d expect them to go out more often (if only they were accessible).
Sleeping Beauty also comes to mind: some of those stylish totes have lain undisturbed for waaaay too long. Instead of a high tower or ivy-covered castle, our Book Club Carryouts (for lack of a better venue) reside in the employees-only area where customers can’t see them. So, we hope you’ll seek them out online.
Your quest will be rewarded when you see how easy it is to provide your book group with recently published selections for free! Check out our list of offerings; you’re almost certain to discover several recently published fiction or nonfiction books that your group members thought they’d have to wait to get in paperback or to purchase individually (Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, Sebastian Junger’s War, Aimee Bender’s The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Mary Roach’s Packing for Mars, and many others).
Later this year, we’ll be displaying these magical book bags in the glass case (just like Snow White) downstairs. In the meantime, we hope you’ll share one of them with your book group, suggest another title you’d like to see in Carryout form, and live happily ever after!
