If you've been down to the shop today...

If you've been down to the shop today you may have got a surprise!
 Books have been moving - in fact every secondhand book has moved to a new home ... we'd have really liked it if they moved themselves something like this:

But they didn't!  Instead I did it (along with some conscripted family and mini minions for a few shelves)!

It was a task and a half but well worth it as it means we can again fit more things in! Yes MORE!
This time not only more secondhand fiction but a whole new glass shelved display of Gifts!

It's not all quite finished yet, but it's getting there ... we are awaiting a delivery or two of new gift stock to come in, and that's why everything had to be moved. So they would have a nice new home ... not as some may claim because the bookshop boss just likes to change it up like the supermarket and keep the customers guessing!
The minion and mates that suggested that were duly despatched ... to get coffee for said hardworked bookshop boss.

We would also like to put customers minds at rest and assure them that no bookcases or books were harmed in the making of this wonderful new shop design - although the same cannot be said for the bookshop boss who was savaged more than once by errant bookcases and vicious thrillers that decided to jump off shelves and pound her into the ground in one notable case!

Still we have survived to tell the tale and invite you all to come down and see what's new and acquaint yourself with some great bargains and new books & gifts too.


Anyway I'm now off to grab a sugar free vanilla latte & a cookie to refuel before playing with the gift displays a little and putting out some new card ranges :D See you all soon here in the shop...

Remember we are here to serve you and we really appreciate your support - go on Shop Local and use an Independent - it's better for all of us when we go local to go global ;-)

So we'll look forward to seeing you, recieving an email from you, chatting on the phone (01522 525557) with you or even facebooking or twittering with you when you come in for your look around, books and supplies - or indeed for any other reason too!

A meander around the shop!

For those as may not have been able to make it to the shop in person or for a goodly while, here is a few minutes madness as we take a walkaround the shop! Oh but we realise we didn't do the outside of the shop and the sheer wonders to be found out there and in the glass gift cabinet too - still leaves us something else to do on another play day :D
Enjoy the visit!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Of course as great as this is we still really love seeing you in person and servng you directly because we really are here to serve you and we really appreciate your support - Go On Shop Local - it's better for all of us when we go local to go global ;-)

So we'll look forward to seeing you, recieving an email from you, chatting on the phone (01522 525557) with you or even facebooking or twittering with you!

Christian Resources Together Trade Retreat

It has been my great pleasure to escape the confines of the wonderful Unicorn Tree these last couple of days (minions of old were conscripted in to fill the empty seat of the wonderul bookshop boss - I am informed the shop still stands ready for my great return tomorrow - remember i'll be the one sipping on the caramel flavour nectar of the coffee bean!) and go to the Christian Resources Together retreat which is a meeting together of Christian retailers and suppliers/publishers. 

It is a wonderful time for keeping informed, social chats, networking and friend making and inbetween the coffee breaks there are even some rather good seminars, talks and useful training type things.

I was extremely flattered to be invited to contribute a  little something to a wonderfully entitled session being given by the great Eddie Olliffe on 'Albatross, Dodo or Jewel - is there still a place on the high street for Christian bookshops to shine!'

I did say to one of the other people also asked to contribute thoughts, the rather clever Steve Mitchell, that sandwiched between Him, Eddie and the very insightful Andrew Lacey, it was obvious I was to be comedic value - God having a rather grand humour decided to prove that one right and as I took my stage debut I promptly fell up it into a rather full slapstick faceplant! ahh well luckily my ego is such it provided an ample cushion and I picked myself up, dusted off and started all over again!

The following piece is a much longer version of what I said (much, much longer and what I said was too long for the squeezed time space given - mea culpe, Eddie).

It's not necessarily of great interest to all you lovely shoppers but it does perhaps give you a feel for the things facing a lowly bookshop boss these days, and not just this bookshop boss but many others and their cheerful minions too - so please do try to think of us here in the shops and when you can please buy local and support your indie businesses as we really do need you all more than ever these days!

Anyway see you in the shop soon, and don't forget mines a caramel latte if you feel like stopping by to chat :-)

How can our trade best communicate the good news in an increasingly post retail era and to a progressively digital era.

Just the kind of question I always loved when studying! So falling back on academic principles I’m going to break the question down into sections!

So first off then: how can our trade communicate the good news.

(For me this raises two main questions that need considering first off,

the simple one of – how do we communicate the good news already?

Then: how do we ourselves experience or define that good news or indeed what the good news is.

You see much of our answer to the bigger question as a whole depends on the answers we give to these questions and how we predicate our response to the questions and issues in relation to being an albatross, dodo or jewel I think.)

My response to the question of good news issues can be summed up in the fact that we are the good news not the books we sell, the books are tools but we are the witness, the living proof and so therefore it is our actions in the heart of the community, our local community, that actually communicates the good news and not the books/music/gifts we sell.

(This is really quite a freeing idea if we properly embrace it …

Think being sent out and not needing two coats etc, think about being the witness by the sharing of verbal word, attitude and action and not by written books or arcane wwjd codes! Think radical hospitality as just a few ways this works.)

So ok that’s a great theory or spiritually fulfilling outlook but in practice our job is actually to sell Christian product and to be a solvent venture while doing it or we aren’t in our trade or in business! So how do we reconcile these things – turn the theory to practical expression when the way we’ve done it before doesn’t seem to be working so well anymore?

Is it coffee shops, more secularisation and hiding our light under a bushel, a little bit of abramic selling out or peter like denial to survive?

No and Yes.

Yes – we widen our outreach to where it should be – the wider community, that’s the wider secular community and not just the churched community, after all that’s where the good news needs to be if we are talking of us communicating it! Because surely those in the churches already have it (though they might need a bit of re-education and a reminder on occasion).

So is this selling out?  Shouldn’t be, but ask yourself what your local community needs, is it really another coffee shop sandwiched in between the others on the high streets? Or could it do with a general bookshop/stationers, toy shop, health food store, secondhand bookshop to fill the library decrease gap, haberdashery or hardware store etc etc etc

All these things are not in anyway in conflict with Christian books and do nothing to lessen the communicating of the Good News – however there is not a reason to my mind for the Christian Books to be shunted to the back of the shop to make room for these others things so as to make the shop more acceptable to the secular shoppers, instead they should work together in tandem so that the buyers/browsers of one interact with the buyers/browsers of the other and in so doing act as witnesses together and build up the community as a whole and show clearly that being a Christian is not an extreme sport for the minority or radicalised but is instead something normal, real and liveable (and in so doing make the questions askable and the witness real) – the good news communicated through people that’s the original model after all.

Does this potential broadening of our retail offer and widening of our customer base dilute or alter our message? No!

Does this lessen our trade focus and offer? Not really – after all TMD for example aren’t lessened by the range of items they distribute, nor are Kevin Mayhew as they broaden their offerings either.

Does this broadening make us viable – possibly is the only answer here because the factors are many that determine viability but it’s certainly stands a chance of improving viability if done right!

(So does changing the focus, broadening the base make us an albatross, dodo, or jewel –as we  try to communicate the good news, well I think that really depends on how we see that good news and answer those first two questions.)

Ok ‘ in an increasingly Post Retail Era’?

I don’t think so. In fact I would go on to say that we now consume more than ever before, we buy more for less and use less for more! But it’s mostly all retail orientated still, yes people are all about cheaper and easier but not about not buying! The venue may have changed but the game of consumerism hasn’t!

But our shops are struggling, our sales are dropping like the proverbial stone in a mill pond, yes but that’s not because people aren’t buying it’s just they aren’t buying from us sadly.

(So is that due to us being retail dodo’s then – old fashioned, ugly, twee and outdated albatross shops? Or buried jewels hidden in sunken treasure chests?  )

Are we avoided because of how we look or act, what we stock or don’t or where we are situated in other words?

Possibly so.

There is for me a consideration we all need to look at and think on and that’s the fact that we in many ways over the years have managed to ghettoise ourselves to some extent, we have isolated ourselves on the desert island of being ‘Christian’ bookshops and by default and accident inferred we only serve Christians and that’s who we are there for etc

In some cases we have even gone one step further and not only infer we only serve Christians but in fact we only serve ‘Our type’ of Christian! We sometimes forget how easy it is to become trapped in our pride and prejudice and in turn become bastions of bigotry  - ‘ I am of Apollos, I am of Paul’ and when we do this we become our own downfall as we stop communicating the good news fully outwards.

I know this sounds really harsh and believe me I’m not casting stones as I’m not without sin but I do believe it is something we need to give real thought to as we outreach out – radical hospitality means talking the log out of our eye so we can use the wood to build bridges, inroads of communication and community centres.

The truth is if we open our doors wider there are lots of people out there shopping and browsing daily – it is still a national pastime.

However they aren’t using us and it’s not just because the doors are too narrow and people like playing at shop the net night and ebay gambling, it is however down to wanting more for less and I’m sorry to say there isn’t much we can do about this – it’s a producers and publishers fix, -  because while they give in and sell their  product at prices that allow their product to be devalued to such an extent that consumer mindset is full price is a rip off (and then don’t play with a fair trade ethos at heart by allowing independents the sort of terms that would ensure a more level playing field so that we can compete on price) well this seems like something we can’t beat doesn’t it.

But is it? I think we can and should campaign, shout and educate both in trade and in the secular arena – buy local campaigns, being honest in name, shame and explain tactics and finally at the end of the day if it is cheaper from Amazon then buy it from there! Of course then tell your supplier/publisher what you are doing and why – (also point out that though that may make their figures look good if they extrapolate the sheer numbers of indie customers doing that currently and then work out the outcome when those indies finally go under what the final impact to them may be maybe they’ll see that working with us is better for all, especially as there isn’t a bookshop in the country, secular or Christian, that doesn’t daily see customers come in to browse and choose books and then say to their friends or ebook/download tool _ I’ll get it from Amazon now I’ve seen it! So how many end sales lost will that really be??) Yes this is a double edged sword I’m playing with here but sometimes ‘I count my losses as gain’

So talking of Amazon what about this increasingly progressively digital generation!

First off perhaps we need to stop blaming the internet for our problems – after all the internet is just an inanimate object, a tool – it’s people that buy and that use the internet! If we are going to ascribe blame (and really should this be a blame game?) then let’s ascribe it correctly.

Wouldn’t it be better to stop seeing Amazon, Eden etc etc as the enemy and instead see them as a colleague the way we do each other – yes maybe not a best friend after all if you are on my back doorstep you are my competitor but not my enemy, we can still be friends and collegues – that same holds with internet shops, indeed they can in some cases even be an admirable ally!

Marketplace, A-shops, ebay, affiliate schemes etc all can be a radical tool in shop survival – after all in the immortal words of another big boy – every little bit helps.

We use the tools at our disposal and should thank god for them instead of bemoaning them and wailing lamentations of doom.

In this progressively digital generation there are still people out there that don’t want kindles and ebooks, that still enjoy the sensation of a real book and it’s ability to be shared with others, still people that like going in bookshops and so the rumours of the books demise are much exaggerated I think, and so too the end of all high street and independent bookshops!

However we can’t and mustn’t deny kindles and ebooks and other downloadable materials, so I advocate that here is the time we use our online competition as ally! An affiliate percentage is better than nothing while we petition our trade partners to work with us in finding a solution we can use well, be it a Christian offering like Gardners Hive, or a shop based scheme for digital download cards or cloud & app based download offerings etc. I’m not sure of the solution but I am sure we need to be working on it right now and together.

So yes it’s an increasingly digital generation but we can still be at the heart of it if we use the tools available to us.  Websites can be done cheaply – very cheaply and no one should be without one, if only for the avenue of online advertising it can open up!

Something worth remembering is that this digital generation want to be part of a community! Facebook, twitter, blogging and social networking are all proof of the want to be part of a community – yes it’s different than before but it’s still a want to be part of something more – we can be part of that something more, we can still be aprt of that community.

Lets not forget as well that the digital generation, regardless of their age, are still coming into town on Saturdays, they still want to see live bands, meet up with each other, go to the cinema, out for food, attend conventions and other events or group meetings, see their fave authors and interact with them etc – this all still leaves the door wide open for us – but probably only if we’ve widened the door for them first.

Books are not dead, our trade is not dead but it may be that they are being redefined – and to answer Eddies larger question (which I wasn’t asked to do!) yes we can still shine as jewels set in an ephod breastplate made from gold tested in the refiners fire.

Melanie Carroll

Praise where it's due

I believe it's important to give praise where its due and so I want to take this space to thank some people for doing a grand job through this last week or so of horrendous weather.

Andy Bradley, the onsite supervisor here at Lincoln Central Market, has worked really hard to keep the market open and trading every day during this nasty weather, despite the fact that many other places closed and he could have taken that option as many others did. Instead he thought first of the traders and their livelihoods and despite it all came in and ensured it was open and heated for us! Thank You Andy and your Team of Paul & Emma.

I would also like to say thanks to Paul Bolden, one of Andy's team.
Last Monday when the place flooded even though Paul wasn't officially at work, when told of the problem by Ben Lockley, offered to come down with him and then worked hard to finally stop the flood that had been going on for quite a long while by this point. He then acted as a really good and concerned member of the Lincoln Central Market team and family and stayed on in his own personal time to help clear up the spill.

Now if only there were more like Andy & Paul - they are the real credit to my mind and at this time to Lincoln City Council - I am quite sure there are others like them and I only wish I had come across them to date!

If you know of any others who deserve an accolade or even a thanks like this - then do it, say it, post it - you can even put it in the comments here!

Faith, Books & Facebook - The script I really should have used on The Reading Room on Siren 107.3fm

On Sunday 1st of August I was a contributor to the wonderful radio show, The Reading Room, on Siren 107.3fm. It is a fantastic radio show on the first sunday of every month at 10am - 12noon and then repeated on the following Tuesday starting at 7pm.
It is an excellent production by Paul and Jonny on books, reading, literature, writing and all manner of things to do with Books & Writing and has some fantastically good music in it too - I really do recommend it.
Paul foolishly has allowed me to be a regular contributor to it so far and this month I did a rather good job at fumbling live on air! I had a script and should have stuck to it but I didn't, bad me!
Still it's not as bad as it could have been and I hope one day Paul & Jonny will trust me to go back and do some more spots on air - I'll even buy them coffee and spring for syrup ;0)
Anyway here is the script I had, I share it here for your enjoyment and edification *grin*.

During the last month I've been reading a few books that look at the idea of facebook, social networking and how we relate to each other and how faith interacts with these ideas. After all I am all about books, faith and social networking - which despite what some may think is not so sad or so unusual. In fact facebook and yes, even twitter, are excellent communication mediums for sharing about all manner of ideas including faith and not least about books, about writing and can really help contribute to the society of the literate, and this despite what Lynne Truss seemed to be concerned about towards the end of her book - Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

Social networking via the internet, because lets remember that though when we use that phrase these days we seem always to be talking about the internet it is a phrase that also describes something that we can and do undertake offline as well! So anyway Social Networking via the internet has the potential and ability to expand and grow our outlook, our outreach and the communities in which we interact, or that's the theory at least. Now all of this it has to be said sounds like something we used to do in our physical and loca; communities and not least in our faith communities, so hows that working?
Hows the move to virtual, to a disembodied medium over a more phyiscal medium really working in this setting, in the traditional faith setting, thats the question that authors Jesse Rice and Dwight Friedman have both decided to look at in their books.

Jesse Rice's 'The Church of Facebook' published by David C Cook begins by addressing our need for connection with others and then goes on to look at why though facebook and twitter give us a form of connection in the end they just dont fulfill our more basic needs for contact - real contact - despite the length our 'contact' lists may be.
In the book he gives a great synopsis of the history and development of our socially networked internet and talks about how it has grown from our needs and wants, but he also points out how it can be a place of shallow depth and interaction that in some ways rather than satisfying actaully leaves one more empty, or feeling more lonely and isolated and then needing more of it to assuage these feelings - for me this made me think of the addiction cycle and tied in to why we succumb to and talk of facebook addiction etc. This is where the need for real community comes into play, says Rice, real human and physical contact can help fill the lonely spots and here is where faith can play an active and real part, faith should after all be about personal contact, outreach and growth - about more than just touching in through an update, but about real interaction. This is what Community and real connectedness is about.
Having said all this though 'The Church of Facebook' does not dismiss social networking, no instead it sys it can be a positive thing - a way to work and grow our connectedness but only if we move beyond the shallowness of much of the interaction and instead anchor it in the reality of our lives, only if we are honest and open and resist the temptation to hide in urbanity and surface socialisation - only then can there really be a church on facebook.
It is an excellent book and worth looking at even if your not really interested in the faith angle as such because it's looking at the idea of Community more than anything and as the subtitle says, 'How the hyperconnected are redefining community'.

Dwight Friesen's book, 'Thy Kingdom Connected' and published by Baker Books looks at a similar theme, that of networked communities, however this book does come with a bit of a warning because although facebook is mentioned in the subtitle of 'What the church can learn from facebook, the internet and other networks' this book isn't really about facebook or social networking online, thats just a nice marketing play to make the book more appealing to a larger audience! This book is really looking at Network Theory and relating this to how he, Friesen, believes the church should work.
Network theory at it's most basic is the idea that has adherents in many fields of study and holds we are connected in all manner of ways by links, nodes and cluster groups. It's an interesting idea and so is the underlying content of this book, however it's not an easy book to wade through and has a very technical feel to it. Being full of venn and cluster link diagrams doesn't really help as it just adds to the feel of being some sort of science manual. That said though if you want a book that really opens up the idea of the network theory and it's correlation to, connectivity to and implications for the church and what it could be, then this is that book and probably a very good one too as it does have some very interesting idea's of how things could work better and more integrative across the church.

On the whole though, 'The Church of Facebook' does cover much of the same idea and in a way thats much more accessable, fun, practical and that really addresses the reality of our internet, facebook, twitter linked and socially networking lives.

For me with both these books what we are really looking at is why we have moved ourselves online? Thats what we need to look at, to address, why are we so willing to pass up our actual phyiscal community for our online community? Is it just convenience - an anytime easy time thing? probably not given we hook into these things even whilst working or roaming the streets - So how do we address this?
We buy online instead of in our local shops, we email, msn, twitter, text and facebook chat as opposed to over the phone or in the real, why is this? How do we, or even do we want to, become more real in the virtual world? How do we deepen ourselves in and through the disembodied medium so we become more involved in the real community around us? Is social networking really increasing our social lives or is it just in reality shrinking them, it, us?
Something to consider and these books are both good starters in that process.
9780736921275/Googling-God
However I want to mention a third book, 'Googling God' by John Cox and published by Harvest House, and this is because this book is about finding God and how we start that experience, possibly by Googling him (or of course you could even Bing him these days! though we don't advise you use a bong although we understand some have tried using such a tool in some cultures, places and times!). From Googling God this then develops out into eventually a personal experience and relationship. Tihis book is great because it's written in such an engaging and personal way by someone who is of our time, a person whose had experience changing continents, changing lives, going through divorce, heartache and upheaval, who uses modern technology and isnt afraid of sharing the personal experiences of doubt, trauma and pain to get across his message. A person who is willing to share more than just the surface niceties and nonsense, but open up about the life drama's experienced in an open and honest way.
But what I like most about this book is how it feels like a book thats incorporating our internet experience into the very body and feel of it, it reads how googling hopping feels - short interesting on topic sections with jumps to quotes and idea's on a theme, quick flits elsewhere and then back onto the next engaging section. It reads like you are googling God and John Cox and that in iteself is really engaging and shows just how much books, the internet and faith can work together, adapt each other and grow to the better for it - and that is a great thing to witness.

Now remember all these books are available at Unicorn Tree Books, so why not call in to see us and pick up your copy, you can even come back and chat about it with me! or of course you can go to our online shop at www.lincolnchristianbookshop.co.uk or www.lincolnbookshop.co.uk and get a copy there.
So come in and stock up soon - we'll look forward to seeing you, recieving an email from you, chatting on the phone (01522 525557) with you or even facebooking or twittering with you!

Think Local Not Amazon - but to help we'll try to match Amazon prices!

Just to let you all know - we are putting up a sign in the shop saying:

We Will Try to Match Amazon's Prices on Bulk Orders so Please think of us first and support your Local Indie Shop.
You can also support us online too - www.lincolnbookshop.co.uk & www.lincolnchristianbookshop.co.uk - where you will get Amazon prices ...everytime, so please bookmark these sites and use them for your purchases - Every little bit helps :0)

Think Local, Buy Local, Be Local - Don't let our local business become a thing of the past!

Now as you know we really are committed to you all and want to support you in the best way we can!

We set up the Church and Community Partnership Scheme to really work with and support the local communities, because we want to give to the local community, we want to be part of that community actively and integrally.

We host events, buy tables, run classes, start groups and make blogs because we want to be involved with our community.

We know how hard it is to always get into the shop so we have set up ways for you to shop online with us, so you can still go local to go global.

In fact we want to be part of the community - an integral, fulfilling and active part of the community.

We hope you want us to be part of the community as well!

To this end then we need your help - we need you to support us too because being a small local indie business is getting harder and harder, So please use us whenever you can - you know we will go that extra mile for you!

And Yes, as you know and we have always admitted - all the things we do such as above are not completely self sacrificing, they are as much for our benefit as yours - but then thats what community is all about, working together for the betterment of both, of all!

So please, here are some posters - 
can you perhaps print one out and stick it up somewhere visable:

church, school, Dr's Surgery, community hall, house window, car window
(all right the last two are unlikely but really how cool would that be - how cool would you be to do that, to really show full out grass roots support!).

Can you tell people about us please, real people you see and know, share the knowledge of us and that we are here, perhaps on your own blog or facebook pages you could include links to our website(s) or even to this post, or use the poster on your blog!

Perhaps in your emails in the signature section you could include one of our links? Recommend us on your twitter stream?

Please support us - shop with us and share with us and share us with others.

let's be community minded and share news with our community - wherever and whoever they may be.

And you know if there is something you want sharing, something you want spreading to the community then let us know, bring us a poster to put up in the shop, send us a note to blog or twitter about, let us know about your links too!

You see if we think local, buy local and be local the whole community and economy naturally and vigorously grows strong and healthy and vibrant! All we have to do is start sharing and spreading the message, start thinking of each other as part of the whole - the community.

So go on, stick up a poster, add a link and use the shop and the sites!

It makes sense!

Now remember, when you come in to have a chat, share the news, or as you bring a poster to put up or leaflets to hand out, mine's a caramel latte and you can have whatever you want too! oh and if I recall right I think the minions mostly drink hot chocolate - see how community minded I am, I even remember the minions!

The websites are:

www.lincolnbookshop.co.uk

www.lincolnchristianbookshop.co.uk

www.jigsawsandmore.co.uk

www.cardmakersupplies.co.uk

www.centralmarketlincoln.co.uk

www.christianbookshopuk.co.uk

You can join us on twitter: @unicorntreebks

Friend us on Facebook, or join our facebook group

Please think local, buy local, be local and support us where you can, just use the websites and pass on the info wherever you can - and in return we'll try to be the best we can for you, just let us know what you want and need and how we in turn can help you, our community and our friends.

Can't resist this - it's fantastic really, at the end just change the one word 'America' to 'Britain'! and remember  I'd love to see you in the shop soon :0)

Online Shopping - we know you do it but now do it with us!

Sad news all around for the booktrade, Borders gone as from this week, Wesley Owen Christian Bookshops pretty much gone, 26 into administration this week, then Waterstones admitting a major profit downturn, the furor earlier in the year with Oxfam killing off Secondhand bookshops - yes indeed one might think it really was the end of real bookshops!
But you know what, it's not - it's just a changing time and these all have to be gone through.
Now the big blame being placed out there is on Supermarkets and Internet Shops
(and yes it does make it harder when publishers etc do give them such massive discounts as to allow them to half price the books, this then makes the supermarket/internet price a better price than normal bookshops can actaully buy them from the publishers and wholesalers for in the first instance! madness but is this the supermarkets/internet shops fault or the publishers, there's something to think about!).
So anyway I can't actually do anything about this conundrum except raise the issue that when you buy from a non-local national or multi-national that less of your spend actaully goes back into your local community, so there we go issue raised.
Now though what I can do is try to make it easier for you to support a local bookshop business whilst going where you want to go anyway - ie onto the internet for what is admittedly a style of selling that is going nowhere fast!
So Here we go, please use these sites:
www.lincolnbookshop.co.uk for all books and more needs! This is an Amazon Ashop so you will be getting all you want from one of the big players that I often can't compete with, however by going to them this way you will be helping support me via their affiliate scheme.
Now lets be perfectly honest here - I would much prefer you actaully came in and purchased from me directly, but as your probably not going to in this instance, at least this way you are still helping support a local business for the times when you do come in to see what the book look like! :0)
Now if it's jigsaws and games you want then please use: www.jigsawsandmore.co.uk
and if it's Christian & Religious Books then please use: www.lincolnchristianbookshop.co.uk
Now on the Christian Books side, if you want church supplies and stationary then that's not online but you can just email us your order at unicorntreebooks@aol.com and we will get it for you and phone you for the payment details we need!

It really is just that easy, of course you can also twitter the order to us at anytime, we are @unicorntreebks or you can facebook us: Unicorn Tree Books Group or friend me

Now please do me a favour and post all these website details all over the place for me! link to them and try to help out your Local(ish) Bookshop business, cause you know we live to serve you!
So Go Local to Go Global, local communities supporting local businesses build a better world and support a healthy global economy and network – really!

Oh and if you are popping in in person then I wouldn't mind if you felt like sharing a caramel latte with me, you bring it i'll drink it - those cyber ones just don't seem to taste as good or quench the thirst nearly so well!


http://www.bookdepository.co.uk?a_aid=unicorntreebooks

Nursery Crimes, oops I mean Nursery Rhymes! Children In Need Appeal - Friday 20th November!

Pudsey Bear Day cometh!
aka Children In Need Appeal - Friday 20th November!

We are thinking Nursery Crimes, oops! I mean Nursery Rhymes as the days theme in the shop!
It's Literary and as were a book & craft shop it just makes sense! Fun and adventures will abound!
All the staff will be dressing up as Nursery Rhyme characters (guess who we are and make a donation if you are wrong & we'll make one if you are right!).
There will be make & take and craft lesson sessions for a donation to the pudsey appeal for children in need, and no I'm not thinking of Mrs Hubbards GrandKids or that Shoe Ladies kids, though you know their cupboards are bare and it's a tight squeeze for a family living in something the size of a shoe!!
Nursery Rhymes really tell some social stories and for a donation we'll even tell you some tall tales and stories too!
What do you think, sound like fun? well then spread the word around and don't forget to come on down on the 20th November.

Author Barrie Mahoney Reading & Signing His New Book 'Journeys and Jigsaws' Book 1 From Teacher to Drag Queen

It's our first LGBT Author event in shop and it would be great if some people showed up and I know you all know the people who know the people!

Event Details:
Author Barrie Mahoney Reading & Signing His New Book
'Journeys and Jigsaws' Book 1 From Teacher to Drag Queen

Venue: Unicorn Tree Books, 35- 40 Central Market, Sincil Street, Lincoln. LN5 7ET
Time & Date: Friday 30th October. 12noon - 2PM.

Background:
The novel is focused on a small primary school in a rural area and explores the issues faced by gay professionals in such rural communities and the prejudices and obstacles that they need to overcome to fulfill their jobs. The book deals with serious issues, but it is very amusing and readers have commented that they "laughed out loud" and the book is available from Gardners.


Barrie was born in Holbeach and later attended Spalding Grammar School. He later worked as a primary school inspector in England and Wales and inspected many schools in Lincolnshire.


Barrie was delighted to be interviewed about his book on the Judy Theobald morning show on BBC Radio Lincolnshire and is also pleased that the Lincolnshire Free Press is reviewing his book in an article in their next edition.

Unicorn Tree Books - Lincolns Niche Market Book Specialists & Lincoln's year round LGBT Book & Dvd Stockists are proud to host this event and hope this may be the first of more LGBT Author & Book events to come!

For more info Contact: Melanie Carroll. Email: unicorntreebooks@aol.com Tel: 01522 525557

Ok guys I know this is not for all of you but it is a community event and it would be really really nice if we can be friendly and supportive and really try to make this a fun and full event, just like with the wonderful Sue Hampton Author Event.
and if any of you know of any authors or themes then come on and let us know.
Looking forward to seeing some of you on Friday and feel free to bring a caramel latte with you (for me!), especially as it'shalf term and none of the minions are on the job this week!

A mention in the Echo again - it's no fake copy either!

I am once again mentioned in the Lincoln Echo - a short quote from me on the damage Counterfeit Goods can do to genuine businesses and markets!

http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/news/Don-t-caught-counterfeit-goods/article-1297651-detail/article.html

Hehe - it's good to be known!

Unicorn Tree Books Nominated Charity

First off we would like to say thank you to everyone that has contributed in the last year to our Nominated Charity - The Alder Hay Imagine Appeal. Together we have raised £367.

That's not bad going at all considering the economy, So thanks.

As you probably know we nominate a new charity each year on the anniversary fo the start of the business, and this year we have decided to go with Listening Books.

Listening Books is the only audiobook charity in the UK providing a streaming audiobook internet service, as well as a comprehensive postal service, to anyone who has a disability which makes it impossible or difficult to hold a book, turn its pages, or read in the usual way. Charity registration number. 264221

We figure this is a worthy cause as we love books and we want everyone to be able to enjoy them - this one is close to our hearts as well due to the fact that in our family we have people who suffer from both degenerative eye issues and physical issues that can contribute to causing our families favourite past-time to becoming something deeply missed. So we want to help make sure that everyone with similair issues gets to continue enjoyig the treasures that books are.
We hope this is a Charity that again you will all be able to get behind with us and that this year we can raise as much, if not more!, for this worthy charity too.
You can donate in shop giving your pennies as so many of you already do - or of course you can dontate directly through our JustGiving Page too. Thanks :0)

Independents Week - it's about community!

This is based on the body of something I just posted on facebook and thought it deserved a bigger airing.
It comes from the fact in the US it is Independent Week, now here in the UK we have Indpendent's Book Week that is a great idea, over in the states they are doing this - but their indie week is actaully for all indies regardless of type of business and this rocks!!
(Some links to find out more! http://amiba.net/independents_week.html)
The stats that are being released as to how buying from indies benefits the community they are based in do roughly hold true here too!
So it's defintely worth considering and remembering that indie store owners live and work in the community and therefore pay fully towards it and are totally invested in it - is this truly true of chain stores or internet shops? yes the staff are local but the profits and put back where do they end up??

This is the body of text taken from the fantastic www.indiebound.com - The US based fantastic Independent Bookshops Website - I totally would love something like this here in the UK!

Why shop Indie?

When you shop at an independently owned business, your entire community benefits:
The Economy

* Spend $100 at a local and $68 of that stays in your community. Spend the same $100 at a national chain, and your community only sees $43.
* Local businesses create higher-paying jobs for our neighbors.
* More of your taxes are reinvested in your community--where they belong.

The Environment

* Buying local means less packaging, less transportation, and a smaller carbon footprint.
* Shopping in a local business district means less infrastructure, less maintenance, and more money to beautify your community.

The Community

* Local retailers are your friends and neighbors—support them and they’ll support you.
* Local businesses donate to charities at more than twice the rate of national chains.
* More independents means more choice, more diversity, and a truly unique community.

Now is the time to stand up and join your fellow individuals in the IndieBound mission supporting local businesses and celebrating independents.


Now before anyone says it - I am not on about Independent's Week - I know we do that as booksellers and publishers anyway, and most other business sphere's have some sort of thing once a year as well.

What I am talking about is things like independent booksellers foundation and the real way the indies are working together for example via www.indiebound.org
We need to be doing this - regardless of the style, speciality or size of our indie stores, unite together but working indie style.
Bookshops aside indie shops of all sorts should be working together!
Supporting, networking, building our communities!
Yes the FSB does a good job (I am a member - www.fsb.org.uk/) but we need something more still - more focused on working together in the community and supporting each other.
Community centred but national and global in sharing idea's and working together independently for the good of communities everywhere!

Come on let's do it - and community come on share with us, support us, love us - we know we need you and we know we love you and will do that extra for you - you're our neighbours and friends!

ps - this year at Christmas we gave over £100 to Lindon Listening Ears - a lincoln based Free Bereavment Counselling Service - we like to give to local charities! and we give to national ones too.

It's about time too! - In the Lincoln Echo again!

Ohh yes indeed - I, me the bookshop boss, Unicorn Tree Books and Lincoln Central Market are once again in the Lincoln Echo!

And best yet - another career moment has been achieved in the life CV - because oh yes and wait for it...I am now a page 3 girl!!

Yes indeed my picture graces page 3 of todays Lincoln Echo, along with an article on how time is no longer standing still in Lincoln Central Market but is merrily marching forward with the rest of us.

So anyway here for all to read is the article in question.

I would like to say thank you to the News Editor for responding to my notification on Saturday and sending down the nice reported - Michael Brown - who was a great guy, and sending the nice photographer -John Jenkins - who was also very nice and even managed, true to his word and skills, to make me not look too much like a rabid chipmunk on a seriosu caffeine high! Thanks guys.

Ok so there we go, a clock that works and let's me know when it really is caffeine time, generally about 8:45am - 4:00pm Monday - Saturday! so if your passing call in and remember I take mine with a shot of caramel syrup in it too!

See you in the shop tomorrow - or online, or on twitter and remember if you have to buy a book online do me a favour and use our affiliate shop to help support us at least a little - though we do take orders bytwitter @unicorntreebks now too!

Minion No.1 is a Twit!

Yes it is a true statement that Minion No.1 is indeed a twit.
How do I, the Unicorntreebooksboss, know this?? because the minion was twittering during working hours on my day off - I had a wonderful running commentary on how little work was being done as she twittered away - and then got cheeky with it when told, via twitter of course, to get back to work!!
Pay peanuts get monkeys maybe!
Actaully call them minions and get hell raisers seems somewhat appropriate too!

So anyway should you want to twitter with a minion (or 2 actaully as the other minion is also on twitter but she doesn't do it at work that I have noticed!) they are on twitter as:

@tazallie (actaully she does twitter post some info on books and book reviews occasionally!)

@Minion2

I have also set up a twibe and a twibe blog!

and of course I am there as well, @unicorntreebks
Note the name, if it is minion working hours then I really should be the only one officially on the system unless it's a break time - though who wants to take bets on the likelihood of that given the minions are revolting!

What is Christian Ficton

Ok, here is a quick thought/question based on thoughts spawned by one of the social network groups i follow/participate in: Christian Authors & Readers Network

What actaully constitutes 'Christian' Fiction??
Is it fiction published by the main christian publishing houses? (cause if so...well!)
Is it fiction by any author who is a practicing/believing christian? (so Anne Rice anyone, Orson Scott Card, Tolkien, susan Howatch etc)(here's an interesting link for sci-fi authors on this one)
Is it fiction where any of the characters are christian and therefore the christian perspective is carried through (fannie Flag -can't wait to get to heaven, Andrew Greeley, Don Camillo books, Howatch etc)
Is it fiction where the idea's and concepts inherent to being a christian or christianity are expressed/embraced etc (Jodi Picoult Books, The Shack etc)

So there we go that's the question on my mind tonight - come on let me know your answers and thoughts on this one!

See you in the shop tomorrow & don't forget I can be found on twitter now too @unicorntreebks !

Uggh Ingrams!

You know at the minute this bookshopboss is not amused!
It would seem that the americans are conspiring against me this week - first the issue relating to the post before and now INGRAMS (this is said in the same tone and intonation as a very bad swear word at the minute!).
I have now been waiting for nearly a week for a delivery to leave the US warehouse and make it to these shores so I can share the lovely books inside with you my lovely and desperate customers - well don't hold your breaths as US systems transpire again to thwart the UK bound.
They can't send it as the card details they have to transact the payment expires this month - and because in the US that would mean the card had actually expired, their cards expire on the first day of the listed month it would seem, and would be unusable their system automatically keeps declining my card - even though in the UK our expiry date means the last day of the month its dated! So they won't be able to send the books until the 1st of August when the new card becomes active!! all because of an automated system that does the payment transaction and the fact that it would seem they cannot overide the system and do a manual transaction!
UGGGGGGH!!!

So ok moving on - it has been unbearably hot in the shop for the last few days - well thats what happens when you work in a glass roofed building - its like being an orchid in a hot house - and yes as you all know I really am that dainty, delicate and blooming wonderful!
Still we have the fan going, the doors open and the books in to help you all keep your cool and enjoy the time basking in the garden, on the beach or wherever with your books!

This week we have had deliveries of more books - a great set of christian books, including some great kids ones and a snuggly sunday bunny! great fun and at good proces (*edit: that was my 'allo allo' british fake french accent in honour of my friend Aude, the continental market that was in town and the fact that I can't actually type!!)too. We also have an offer going on some NT to give away this summer - they are only £1.50 instead of £3.99, and we are offering £1.00 off Richard S. Taylors 'What every Christian ought to know' (9781853453168) as well! For a review of this book go here its a site I am very involved with and even review for on occasion and I heartily endorse it for impartial christian reviews!(but whatever you do remember to come back to me to buy it!!!) : http://www.thegoodbookstall.org.uk/review/1853453161/richard-s-taylor/what-every-christian-ought-to-know/

Oh we had gifts in too! Very Very cool wooden toys - a Noahs Ark! A Nativity Set in a String Bag and some square blocks - 26 of them with words and pictures of them - the people in the pictures look a bit like BOD! I love it. There are also some BOD like magnet sets as well - a nativity set and a Life of Jesus set as well. Honestly they are great - I am thinking of going over to the kids corner and playing with them as stress relief from the week.

In the craft section we have had in some new stuff too, Christmas Card making materials and a whole load of pens, glitters, glues and other fun stuff to make a mess with over the summer while you pretend to be getting ready for Christmas!

Ohh talking of Christmas Cards - I did the Christmas Card order this week, lots and lots of Christmas cards will be in at the end of August - charity ones and normal ones! and the Christmas nativity and gift order is going in this week too! they too will no doubt arrive much to soon - there are some lovely Christmas ornaments going to be coming in.
and talking of charity -

So anyway come by and see - bookshopboss vent and share over now! going to have a coffee now. See you soon.

Shuffle, Sweat & Swines!

So Ok, for anyone not visiting the shop today - and that was quite a few of you! It was unbearably hot in the giant green house that is Central Market today. ( That is why I don't blame you for not visiting today - i bet you were all in the garden or at skeggy with the deckchair and knotted hankies on!)
Honestly I keep telling everyone about my market garden idea of growing my own Tomatoes, peas and lettuces on top of the shop but everyone keeps telling me I can't! I think it is just wrong of them - the swines!

Anyway today was swelteringly hot and so as per my usual want I was doing a bookshop shuffle again - this time in unit 3 - Unicorn Tree Christian Books!
Yes that's right - I was taking out bookcases and putting in slat wall and new units and it looks much bigger, brighter and better!

I have cleared out a lot of floorspace with judicious use of new units and slat wall that allows nice shiny things and gift cabinets to be suspended in the air, and there is also a new card unit that rests on top of nice new half shelving units that tidily display the multitued of candles we now have to keep in stock. It really does look good and not only did it tidy it up, make floor space and more gift and card space but believe it or not we fit in more books too!
Honestly with time and ingenuity I can build a tardis and disguise it as a bookshop!
So anyway we now have lots of gifts in to fill in the space we created - some very nice statues of the good shepherd and some nice standing Crosses as well. And Kids badges and notebooks came in from Hughes and Coleman as well.
Then add to that another delivery arrived and it was Atkinsons Parsons Pocket Books!
timed nicely to arrive with the Marston delivery of SPCK Church Pocket Book & Diaries! So there we go 2009 is here and it isn't even August.
So anyway then my rep arrives and begins showing me Christmas and Advent books - and believe it or not she even had some Lent 2009 material in her folder! Scary scary thought.
having said that I need to remind people that I will soon be placing my Advent Candle order and so if they could let me know in advance what size, type and colour sets they require then that would be good to ensure their orders are fulfilled!

So anyway I finish the shuffle, empty the boxes, enter them onto the machine and see the rep (by the way did i mention that minion no.1 was off yesterday and today with a summer flu! hence me being so hot, sticky and industrious?? and i had to give up my day off! minions and their germs! and they still expect to take time off to go on holiday working as a guide leader at Poachers later this month and they reckon thats not resting, what kind of minions are being germinated these days - no stamina!) so anyway as I was staying I have finished all this hard work and am just about to sit down and melt quietly in a corner when a delivery of 7 big boxes arrives! and this at gone 1pm!
That would be the Calender and Diary order for the general shop! yes we now have over 14 different styles of 2009 Diary in stock and and 19 different calenders for 2009! and even better yet I already sold some before I had priced them! and still people keep asking me for this years diary - sorry no we don't have any left in stock - its JULY already - you were supposed to get them in January at the latest, we even had them in February but we don't have them now as it would appear to be time for next years crop already!!!.
So thats the Calenders and diary's done - well at least the ones from that supplier, that just left the 3 boxes of stationery, stickers and over 24 jigsaws to do!
Yes we have fresh jigsaw designs in again - at the minute we are averaging selling a small jigsaw a day and a large jigsaw every 3 days! we are puzzled at how fast our lovely customers can do these things! - more trains and vintage cars in this batch than the last one.
Then there was an Ingram delivery as well - full of paranormal goodies, some manga and the new Batman Graphic novel! Lush.
- Talking of Lush and their glitter bath bombs, the new stickers that came in were all glitery too! wonderful Disney Princesses, WTP (that's Winnie the Pooh - it took me a good 2 minutes to figure that out when trying to match up what I had to the silly invoice -a lot of oh piglets was happening due to silly acronyms!) and Diego & Dora, along with stars and smiley faces - all with a glitter thing going on! Sparkly! -
anyway back to deliveries in today.

We also have a copies of 'The Shack' in - we have sold quite a few of these already and this was a top up order just in, along with it came one of Todd Bentleys books - just in time for God channel to take it off screen I note. Hmm I feel sorry for the fill-in pastors as I suppose it could feel a bit like a slap not being worthy of air time if it ain't Mr Bentley doing the impartation! Still God moves in myserious ways, His wonders to perform! Back to the Shack though, as thats also a book that shows God doing wonders in a different way than we would necessarily expect.
The Shack is a good book and well worth the read - feeling lazy here so instead of reviewing it myself I am including a couple of links for you all to follow to find out more about the book - except to say i heartily endorse the book, it is a great read!
http://www.thegoodbookstall.org.uk/review/9780964729230/william-p-young/the-shack/
This gives the publishers blurb (by the way this site is an excellent site for all types of Christian Book reviews! and is well worth looking at regularly - not least because the bookshop boss that is I does regular reviews for it - nothing like self aggrandisement there!)
http://www.christianbookshops.org.uk/reviews/shack.htm - Phil Groom's great website offers this review which is independent of the publisher!
By the way just ignore all the buy from someone else buttons on the sites please folks and remember to come back to me, after all we miss you and amuse you much more than they do!

So anyway as you can tell today was a busy day and it really is well worth popping in and visiting the shop, take in the new look at unit 3 and maybe check out a jigsaw or 24!

Anway its late and I am still hot and feeling tired so am going to say tattybye and see you in the shop tomorrow!

We got Candles, Wafers so don't Wine!

The Jigsaw, Paint-by-Number and Sticker people have been great and have been helping to keep us in the last few weeks - probably because they know a good deal when they see it and realise we are much better value than most of the competition in town! 

We have a full and exceedingly large spinner chocablock full of paint-by-numbers and scraper foils! and we have deals on them, you buy 2 and the price is less! 

We have a brand new and full sticker stand and a lot of the stickers on it are 3 for £1 - these include disney, pooh, dora the explorer, transformers and lots more! 

and we have had a whole range of new season designs in the Jigsaws. From Paul Lamond - some stunning Gothic and Fantasy Images on them! From JR a load of steam trains and rural/wwII scenes in! and lots more from about 3 or 4 different brands, and we have a whole slew of kiddy jigsaws as well as Jig Rolls at a really great price. Well worth looking at.

OK theres lots of new stuff coming in almost daily - and some of the Greetings Cards we now have in are really good as well and at a cracking price for the style and quality of them too! Come take a look some time soon! Just don't get the minions too excited as they get uncontrollable then and I end up having to calm them down with coffee and chocolate! oh or wait a minute is that me I end up having to calm down with Coffee and Chocolate (remember you are always welcome to come for coffee and a chat but just remember to bring me a Caramelatte from Nero's or a Caramel Machiatto from Starbucks when you come!)

Hey, so anyway we now have the most common sizes of Candles in stock! yes that includes fluted base, Votives - Stick & Cased, Sanctuary Lights, Baptism (3 sorts) and Wedding candles! and we have had to re-order twice as well! 

So yes we have candles - don't forget to pick up one of our spanky full colour Candle and Church Supply brochures when you are in - it even has a section on the back for you to fill in what size candles you normally have - if you don't do the candle buying then please pass it on to someone that does.

We also have Communion Wafers in ( and yes they have had to be re-ordered and topped up as well!), so thats Priests Crucifix, Peoples Crucifix, Priests Plain and Peoples Plain and yes Gluten Free ones as well!
Yes we have Baptism Certificates, Confirmation Certificates and SGA Packs in stock.
Yes we have Daily Reading Notes and Sunday School Material and yes please do place them on standing order with us, it makes re-ordering so much easier for me to do!
Yes we have Bibles, Books and everything else you can think of - Don't forget to take a postcard for the church/community noticeboard!!
No we are not fully stocked up yet, but we are getting there! but as it's all coming out my own pocket it will take a little time - and:

NO DON'T say when you come in - and I offer to order it for you - 'No thanks I will get it off the Internet'!!
I mean you can get it off the internet if you want (heck I shop the internet too!) but don't actually say it to me, or the minions, when out of my own pocket and at the sacrifice of my own wage I am struggling to kit out a Christian Bookshop so that you have the books and candles on hand! It is rather like Marie Antoinette saying about the poor, 'let them eat cake'! its just not really very well thought out, a bit like salt in a wound or a stab in the back! 

Just say - 'No thanks that's ok'. That we can live with much easier as we can fool ourselves you won't buy it off the internet and will come back in after you have looked around other shops and not found it!
But let me just point out - when I offer to order it for you it will usually be in stock within 3-7 days - you don't often get it from amazon etc any quicker, heck ask some of my customers and you will realise that in a lot of cases it comes in within 2 days depending on day of the week and suppliers! and when I order it for you from new you don't then have to pay a carriage charge for the item! so yes even if amazon or whoever are offering a bit of a discount add in the carriage charge and you may well find its actually no cheaper! and just think when you order it from me thats the money I need to buy the stock to make sure that the next time you come in needing that Nicky Gumbel book or Margaret Silf book its there on the shelf!
Ok whining done - rant over on that one. (and no we don't sell alcoholic communion wine - we can arrange to have it despatched to you but we don't actually stock or sell it as we are not allowed  to because of Licensing Laws).

New rant!
To all the gen book Unicorn Tree'rs I have who have done or are contemplating doing this! - Don't ask me, or the minions, to look stuff up on the computer because Waterstones, WHSmith etc, won't, can't... if you are not actually going to buy anything from us and are then going to come back in the shop and tell me you got the book whose title you had me look up for you on Fantastic Fiction.com last week from the competition! especially when its a book I have in stock and on the shelf when you come in clutching your gains!!
Please understand neither I nor the minions mind looking stuff up (unless you can see we are really busy- but then leave us what you want looking up and ordering on a note with a contact number and we will do it and get back to you after we have finished being busy!) we like playing on the computer! but please understand it is a service we offer to our customers and to be a customer you actually have to purchase something!! otherwise you are not a customer but at best a browser, and though we don't mind browsers in the shop we really want them to become and be customers that browse the shelves. 

Let me make clear I don't mind if we look something up and you then don't get it due to price, timing of delivery etc etc or any of the other really legit reasons there may be - I just object when you are using us as an information service with no intention of supporting us! lets face it, it's like getting on a bus for a ride out to view the scenery and then not paying the fare!
Also - sort of tangential to the last one, please do not moan at me and my minions when you bring me the books that you purchased from the competition for credit and I only give you a 25p or 50p credit on them! after all how much credit do the competition actually give you on your secondhand books?? and Yes by all means do give it/them/the books to a Charity Shop instead of to us - we support and believe in charitable giving and charity - and this statement is just annoying really, especially when prefaced with 'I might just as well take them to a Charity Shop then! I would be just as well off!' as I am pretty sure they dont give you a credit at all in the Charity shop either. 

(Oh and by the way this shop financial year - since September 07 - I (Unicorn Tree) with our customers help have given over £265 to our sponsored charities - yes you can check this out on our justgiving.com charity pages to make sure what I am saying is legit! I only give through justgiving so that it can be tracked and you all can be assured our charitable giving is a legitimate fact and not just something we say! - £215 to GOSHH and £50 Christmas appeal to Habitat for Humanity - so actually you know what, when you give your books to us and I give you a credit you are supporting charity as well - as I have made a commitment that I keep at my own expense to tithe a percentage of my shops profits to charity - when you donate stuff that percentage gets higher! how much of the actual money from some charity shops actually goes to charity?? I know for a fact the answer in at least one case is, well that would be about 0.01p a year! but thats another story.)

So please don't moan at me when you do not get much back on the competitions books, buy our books and leave our stickers on so I, and the minions, know they are ours and you might get a little more. 

Oh yes and the reason you get more back on the secondhand books than on new books is because the secondhand books cost me less to buy so I can afford to give you more, (but then think about this before you start saying how much money I make on them - you bring me a book and I give you a 50p credit on it, so it cost me 50p to buy, I then put it out at £2.00 - lots of profit you say?? only if i sell it in the first place! but saying I do, the purchaser pays £2.00 and then brings that book back and I then give them a £1.00 credit on it as its one of our secondhanders and you get a 50% Credit - so actually all I made on that book is 50p! Not much profit there at all really! especially if you then only buy a book that costs the value of that credit!).
If we gave you 50% on the new books we would be giving you more than we make on the book in the first place, in fact i would then be paying you to buy the book from me in the first instance! and if I was going to do that I might as well just leave the till open and say help yourself!
So OK I really do understand you all want the best return or best deal on things you can get (so do I, it's natural!) - but you know what I bust my back trying to give that best return and deal to you in the first place, I am not looking to get rich merely to make a decent living doing what I love- selling books.
My books are generally cheaper - often a lot cheaper that the competition - yes even most of the newest books!
Margaret Dickinson's new book - 'Sing As We Go' is full price in all the competition shops - £5.99 and it is only £5.75 with me - that 75p instead of 99p is pretty much true on all the brand new fiction - thats my pocket that comes out of - and I do not begrudge doing this as I want you to have good fiction at good prices, but please then think about it when you come in and don't then expect the unreasonable along with the reasonable.

Ask me and the minions nicely and we will happily try to explain all this, but please do not be rude and objectionable. Please think a little on what you say and how that effects me and the minions. After all when you ask us to do the work like looking up books but then you buy them elsewhere - well in time thats a minion less working, and then there won't be anyone with the time to look up the books for you!

On the secondhand side of it - well at least you are getting something back on the books you buy, and please don't just buy up to the value of the credit note you are given - especially when you keep coming in with other peoples books to make up that credit note - after all if you do that often enough I won't be here anymore as I don't get a government subsidy like the lending library does and essentially thats all I am if you keep buying off others and getting credits off me and just topping up the books to the value of the credit note! At least a few times a month can you actually buy something off me please, it doesn't have to be a full price brand new book, a cheap secondhand will do rather than just swapping books or using our knowledge and systems?

I want to be here to serve you all for a long time - and I want the minions to be here to serve me for a long time! - so please buy some stuff off us occasionally and not just use us!
Okay nother rant over.

Anyway thats me done for the night, see you in the shop in the morning - its a minion free day so feel free to bring the coffee!

The Brain at work for Christmas!

A clip of Pinky & The Brain from a Christmas special that perfectly sums up how the unicorntreebooksboss felt doing the bookcase boogie just before the Lincoln Christmas Market.

So apt on so many fronts in fact!! except the spellchecker given to Pinky should really be given to the minions!