by Debbie Burke
In 1988, when we moved to Flathead County, Montana, the population was 57K. There were more than 10 bookstores within a 25-mile radius of Kalispell. Except for Waldenbooks in the mall, all were independently owned. They happily coexisted, each with its own quirky personality, specialties, and customer base.
Fast forward a few years when a behemoth named Borders came to Kalispell. Readers loved the huge selection, the cafe, and ample parking lot, unlike downtown where parking has been a problem since horse and buggy days. My critique group met at Borders in cozy nooks with comfy chairs.
But, there was a downside: one by one, the neat, quirky, little indie bookstores went out of business.
Fast forward a few more years and an even bigger behemoth named Amazon took over domination of the book market.
What goes around, comes around.
Where Borders had once put mom-and-pop bookstores out of business, now Amazon gobbled up Borders. In 2011, 400 Borders stores closed, including the one in Kalispell.
Meanwhile the county’s population swelled. As of 2023, it’s 114K folks. For years, a handful of used bookstores and one small indie that had survived were the only brick-and-mortar options. Browsing thumbnails onscreen just isn’t the same as wandering the aisles and spotting something that strikes your fancy. Readers were living in a literary desert.
Then, on January 31, 2024, a new Barnes & Noble opened in Kalispell.
A week before opening, B&N CEO James Daunt said in a press release:
“The positive feedback we have received since announcing this new Barnes & Noble has been astounding. It has been a long time since Borders had their bookstore just across the parking lot and it is a particular pleasure to bring a major new bookstore back to U.S. 93.”
If Mr. Daunt had any doubts about this new location, opening day quickly erased them.
It was a mob scene. Vehicles circled the jammed parking lot like vultures waiting for someone to pull out. Hundreds of long-famished book lovers roamed through the store. I don’t remember this much excitement about a retail store opening since 1993 when Costco arrived.
One of the most frequent comments as customers walked through B&N’s doors: “It’s wonderful to smell new books.”
The arrangement is an attractive, intriguing labyrinth. Walls of books divide the space into discrete sections: fiction, new releases, mystery-thriller, sweet or spicy romance, westerns, nonfiction, history, religion, self-help, children’s and YA, Manga, graphic novels, and more.
On one table, a sign announces “Banned Books.” Many titles had been required reading when I was in school.
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl;
Of Mice and Men;
The Great Gatsby;
For Whom the Bell Tolls;
To Kill a Mockingbird;
Catcher in the Rye;
Fahrenheit 451;
- 1984.
Also there are more recent titles like:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings;
The Hunger Games;
The Handmaid’s Tale;
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest;
The Color Purple.
One large wall displays books about Montana, from hiking guides to history to Glacier National Park to bison, wolves, and grizzlies to mining and logging to pioneer memoirs.
Each new cubby in the maze features more products: games, gifts, cards, beautiful bound journals, vinyl records, turntables, magazines.
Especially encouraging are expansive sections devoted to young readers, covering the range from picture books to YA novels.
A reader’s oasis appeared in what was once a literary wasteland. On opening day, people waited in line for up to 45 minutes to pay for their armloads of purchases.
There’s an old saying that you can’t throw a typewriter in Montana without hitting a writer. Dozens live in my immediate area, hundreds within a tankful of gas. And no one is more excited about the new B&N than we authors are.
Local authors Dr. Betty Kuffel, Barbara Schiffman, Debbie Burke, Jess Owen Kara
The manager, Daniel, put out the welcome mat for us, hosting book signings not only for traditionally published authors but also indie-pubbed authors on consignment.
My slot was at noon on the Sunday after opening day. A few days before, I brought in two boxes of books. By that weekend, crowds were still large, but not quite as overwhelming.
The signing table was set up just inside the front entrance. Daniel had stacks of my books ready, along with stickers that read “Signed Edition.” I waved at him across the store, but he barely had time to nod because he was so busy ringing up sales with two other cashiers.
Families streamed through the door with toddlers to college-age kids, adult mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, grandparents and grandchildren. The interest among young readers was heartening.
I must have talked with more than 100 people. All were excited about books and reading.
Some chats were brief: “I’ve missed Borders. Glad this new store is here.”
Others lasted much longer: “You wrote all these books? Wow. What are they about?”
“Which book should I start with in your series?”
“My fifth-grade students are learning to write stories. Would you come and talk to them?”
“I want to be a writer. Can you give me advice?”
“I like to support local authors.”
And they did support this local author. I sold 17 books on consignment.
I also learned insights into B&N’s book ordering process. They can’t order or stock books that don’t show up in their computer system. As mentioned in this post, they don’t order from Amazon KDP Print-on-Demand (POD).
However, there’s a workaround for Create Space POD books:
Amazon/CreateSpace authors have the ability to choose the extended distribution option for their titles. By choosing this option, their books automatically become available through Lightning Source.
Lightning Source is Ingram Book Company’s print-on-demand division, and they make CreateSpace titles (as well as other POD titles) available to Barnes & Noble and other retailers.
Barnes & Noble will only sell CreateSpace titles through BN.com and customer orders, not through in-store stocking and replenishment.
That’s how Daniel was able to order and stock Instrument of the Devil and Crowded Hearts – A Novella, but not the rest of my titles. Those sales he handled through consignment.
Another alternative is to upload directly to BN.com. However, there’s a catch: for a store to order them, books need to be returnable. But, according to a knowledgeable author with many self-pubbed books, BN.com POD books are not returnable. Huh?
Confused? Me, too.
My conclusion is that the best option for me as a self-pubbed author is to upload to Draft2Digital and Ingram Spark (I’m in that process now). That makes ordering clear and direct.
Because CEO Daunt gives individual local managers autonomy and latitude for ordering, I’m hopeful Daniel will keep my books in stock once they’re available on D2D and Ingram Spark.
What happens to our little locally-owned shops now?
I’m not about to turn my back on the Book Shelf and Bad Rock Books (with three friendly resident cats!). They’ve supported me for years. When I spoke with Stephanie, the Book Shelf owner, she was excited about B&N’s opening: “There are never enough bookstores!”
Existing stores cater to different niches than B&N. At this point, the area’s population is large enough to sustain all of them.
When many retailers are closing stores because of the shift to online, readers prove they still love to sniff the aroma of new books and wander aisles in search of serendipitous finds. How’s this for an intriguing title? It begged me to pick it up. 
Barnes & Noble, welcome to the neighborhood!
~~~
TKZers: Which physical bookstores do you visit? What’s your favorite way to buy books–online, in a bricks-and-mortar store, or both?
Divide, CO has no physical bookstores. It has very few stores, period. Nearby Woodland Park just got a used bookstore. Otherwise, it’s a drive all the way down the mountain to Colorado Springs where there’s a B&N plus some indies.
Given we’ve downsized in a major way when we moved up here, I get most of my reading material in digital format, and print from the library.
But I love B&N, and cheers for them refusing to die.
Terry, mostly I read on Kindle for space considerations and b/c I can adjust the font size. But there’s nothing like wandering around, picking up something that catches the eye.
Congratulations on having a book signing. I love to go into Barnes and Noble stores when I’m in Missoula or Bozeman. I don’t get up to Kalispell very often, but I’ll tell my mom about the new one (she lives in Big Arm). I love the smell and sight of books. Movies like You’ve Got Mail make me happy because of the two bookstores. I would be happy in either one. Unfortunately, it makes my hands unhappy to hold a physical book, so I order Kindle copies.
Michelle, if you come this far north, be sure to holler and we can meet at this new hangout for MT writers.
Most definitely!
Hi Everyone,
This a.m., the cybergremlins are back, gobbling up your comments. I’ve alerted our website guru and hope to get the problem resolved soon.
Dontcha just love technology!
Yes, ain’t Science wunnerful?
Good morning, Debbie. Great piece. I’ve never had any selling traction with B&N online, and I get the impression they cater more to print books in physical stores than in the digital world.
Me – I’m buying more online from Amazon than in print these days because of the cost and convenience (poor excuse, I know), but I still drop into bricks & mortar stores any chance I get. Our city on Vancouver Island has a pop of 100K and only has two book stores. One is the equivalent of B&N called Chapters Indigo that has a Starbucks attached at the hip and carries maybe 1/3 books and 2/3 novelties. The other store stocks used products.
However, our getaway place is on nearby Galiano Island with a 1,300 population and has a new/used book store to die for. It’s been in business as long as I remember and has a huge sign out front that says “We Don’t Ban Books. We Read Them.”
Garry, B&N’s Nook never got the traction that Kindle did. In fact, I don’t recall seeing them for sale in the new store (although I may have overlooked them among many other delights to see).
One-third books, 2/3 novelties was one reason why B&N got in trouble. Daunt refocused on books and things turned around.
Used bookstores are a treasure.
Congratulations, Debbie! That’s exciting. I hope the B&N does well.
Our county in rural western Ohio has a population of 40,000 and no bookstores. I have to travel an hour to Columbus or Dayton to visit a B&N, which means I find most of my reading material at our local libraries (Ohio has a good inter-library exchange.) or online at Amazon.
I hope the enthusiasm continues, and new bookstores start a comeback.
Good luck with the book sales! Have a great week!
Thanks, Steve.
Isn’t it amazing that many areas with sizable populations have few bookstores? I hope the enthusiasm of younger readers for the physical book will lead to a revival.
Good morning, Debbie. Wonderful post. I do most of my book shopping online. We buy ebooks for fiction now, since our shelves are bursting, while my wife and my respective non-fiction purchases are combination of ebook and hard-to-find speciality topics, like double star atlases and out of print books on lace making, which can be hard to find in brick-and-mortal bookstores.
We’re blessed here with Powell’s Books branch, as well as a local Barnes and Noble.
I’ve never done a book store signing. My own books have done decently at Barnes and Noble online. I should reach out to our local branch.
Hope you have a wonderful week!
Thanks, Dale. Powell’s is amazing.
Yes, those hard-to-find-rare books are worth making space for. Our reference books are big, honking hardcovers that have forever homes on our shelves.
Definitely reach out to the manager. Wishing you the best of luck when you have your signing.
I’m not sure this will work but I’m going to try pasting the comments that went missing in here.
From Cynthia McClendon
Congratulations, Debbie! So proud of you.
I love Barnes and Noble, though I can never find anything in there. If
I’m in a hurry I tell them what I want and let them find it. If not,
it’s one of my favorite Artist’s Dates just to wander. I always find
something.
When the kids were small and money was tight we’d visit the used
bookstore across the street. It was called the Book Nook and was a
treasure trove. I’d give the kids $5 each and let them get what they
wanted. Good times.
From George Smith:
I preferred Waldenbooks back in the day… and the university
bookstores whenever a chance to wander one came up (I especially
remember San Diego State’s on a vacation in my teens)… but they seem
to have “downsized” to just textbooks and athletics branded hoodies,
hats, tee-shirts, and onesies…
The closet used bookstore (or bookstore of any sort) when I was
growing up was called The Bookworm, and it was a dense maze through
three or four storefronts on the four-lane in Fayetteville (GA).
Two that I frequent when I’m in LA (Lower Alabama), visiting family
are Fairhope’s Page and Palette for new and local, and The Book Inn
for used – they’re within a walkable block of each other downtown –
and smell awesome!
Spent many hours at Page and Palette. Love that place.
From Patricia Bradley:
I live in a small town with the nearest bookstore fifty miles away. It
wasn’t always the case. Ten years ago we had three bookstores, an
independent built on the model of B&N, New Life, and Books a Million.
The independent was the first to close, then the Books a Million, and
New Life only sells cards and Bibles now.
But there’s hope–a nice used book store just opened around the first
of the year. Due to deadlines and weather, I haven’t been down there,
but the owner is offering authors an opportunity to do book
signings…and as soon as these edits are in, I’m going!
From B.K. Jackson:
I don’t buy many physical books these days (both due to aging eyes & a
small apartment that is hard pressed to hold more books. LOL!) but
when I do go to the bookstore, I have a Half Price Bookstore 3-4 miles
away. And a couple miles further out B&N.
My fondest bookstore memories are from back in the days when I’d go to
the mall when they had Waldenbooks and…well I forget the other name.
But I’d go every few months to pick up the latest Star Trek TOS novel.
And Half Price books is great for browsing the historical reference
shelves for books.
While not a physical store, Abebooks.com has been a great help when
I’m looking for historical reference books as well.
Congratulations, Debbie, and all the other members of your community on getting a lovely new Barnes & Noble! There’s nothing like a bookstore, and it sounds like this one is going to be a success. I hope B&N keeps going. I’ve sold a reasonable number of ebooks at B&N online, and I’d hate to see them give in to the Zon.
We have several B&N’s in the Memphis area. They seem to be doing well, and they’ve been very nice about letting us do book signings. My favorite bookstore, though, is Novel Bookstore, an independent operation here. It’s smaller than the B&N’s, but has a very good cafe and a separate section for local authors. It’s always fun to have lunch there and spend some time browsing through the store.
Most of the books I read I get digitally from the library. When I buy a book, I’ll opt for an ebook because of the convenience. But if it’s a book on the craft of writing or a book I particularly love, I’ll buy the paperback. (I must love a lot of books because our bookshelves are overflowing! 🙂 )
Kay, I also prefer print for writing craft books and references. I can’t imagine digitally paging through the Chicago Manual of Style to find something. It’s hard enough with the doorstop physical copy.
Wow, I didn’t realize how blessed we are to have ten bookstores in the metro area, and many in surrounding cities, which could be due to having so many colleges and universities.
When the first book I wrote was published, a local bookstore in the smaller city near me hosted a book signing for me. I signed books and visited with people for over four hours. The bookstore had ordered four cases of books and ran out, so people were running to Walmart to get a copy to get it signed. A few weeks later, a Barnes & Noble in Sioux City invited me for a signing, and I think only five people showed up. I think being from an area and knowing a lot of people makes a huge difference.
Since we downsized and I donated thousands of books, I try not to buy physical books, but sometimes they appear in my house like magic! Gonna need to weed some out one of these days.
Wow, Becky, that’s an incredibly successful signing! Congratulations!
You’re absolutely right–friends, neighbors, and fellow authors are our best support.
I think the Book Fairy sneaks into houses at night and deposits books.
Around these parts, the word is BYOT: bring your own throng. Most book stores rarely have enough traffic to support a signing.
Great news, Debbie. I’m lucky to have several B&N’s within manageable driving distance. My favorite, though, is The Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles. I’ll drive the 40 miles just to browse that masterpiece of a store. Highly recommend if you ever visit.
Rose, I googled Last Bookstore. Wow, that place looks incredible with a walk-through arch made of books and a bank vault. Do you know if it’s the old Security Bank building? That used to be at 6th and Spring and this is the corner of 5th and Spring.
Definitely worth the drive. Thanks for alerting us.
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