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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
for die-hard book fans everywhere!,
By
This review is from: Bookstore Tourism: The Book Addict's Guide to Planning & Promoting Bookstore Road Trips for Bibliophiles & Other Bookshop Junkies (Paperback)
Reviewed by Katie Weekley for Small Spiral Notebook
Bookstore tourism is the brilliant idea that stems from an activity which, until now, most of us didn't realize was becoming a trend. We die-hard book-nuts already flip open the yellow pages when we travel to new cities, looking for local bookstores. Larry Portzline realized the beginnings of a movement and in the summer of 2003 organized a Pennsylvania college group to visit to several bookstores around Greenwich Village. When the tour sold out almost immediately, Portzline organized several more and, as he put it, "knew he was onto something." Since then, he has received many inquiries from booksellers, librarians, travel professionals and many other types of booklovers who were excited by his idea and wanted to start their own organized tours of independent bookshops. He responded by starting a website (http://www.bookstoretourism.com/) and writing his book, Bookstore Tourism:The Book Addict's Guide to Planning and Promoting Bookstore Road Trips for Bibliophiles and Other Bookshop Junkies. Portzline's book is an excellent how-to guide for those planning bookstore tours. He covers every possibility, from invitations/reservations, how to choose locations, methods of travel, and fun activities to do on the way. As for destinations, he offers descriptions of his favorite bookstores around the country, as well as methods for researching new places. He clearly loves bookstores of all kinds, and while he recommends researching places before visiting, he loves the thrill of finding hidden treasures and urges participants to be open to all possibilities. Many independent bookstores, faced with high rents, low readership and competition from larger, more commercial stores, have closed in recent years. These bookstores are not merely businesses, but barometers of local cultures and environments for personal enrichment and learning. Portzline imagines, "Wouldn't it be great to see busloads of booklovers pulling up in front of your favorite indie bookstore on a regular basis?" He stumbled on a fantastic new trend and graciously shares his knowledge in this book.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most inexpensive & useful book oriented resources,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bookstore Tourism: The Book Addict's Guide to Planning & Promoting Bookstore Road Trips for Bibliophiles & Other Bookshop Junkies (Paperback)
Bookstore Tourism: The Book Addict's Guide To Planning & Promoting Bookstore Road Trips For Bibliophiles & Other Bookshop Junkies by author and bibliophile Larry Portzlne is a combination tour guide, planner, and celebration of the independent bookstore. The result of the author's campaign of innovative grassroot efforts to promote and support independent bookstores through identifying them as a tourist destination and crating a new travel niche specifically designed for booklovers, Bookstore Tourism is as much fun as it is informational and is a superbly conceived and executed tool for the promotion of reading, literacy, travel, tourism, independent bookstores, and a shared love of books. There is also a very special serendipity with respect to Bookstore Tourism. It is an ideal reference and resource for authors and small press publishers seeking to create their own book tours, establish bookstore events within the community of independent bookstores across the nation. Of special note and value are the appendices providing contact information for national bookseller associations; regional bookseller associations; American literary and book festivals; a listing of books about books, bookstores, and reading groups; and state-by-state resource listings for agencies and bureaus dealing with the arts, economic development, history, libraries, and tourism. One of the most inexpensive and useful book oriented resources, the 104-page Bookstore Tourism is enthusiastically recommended for bibliophiles, authors, publishers, and booklovers everywhere.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kirkus Discoveries Review,
By Bookshop Junkie Press (Harrisburg, PA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bookstore Tourism: The Book Addict's Guide to Planning & Promoting Bookstore Road Trips for Bibliophiles & Other Bookshop Junkies (Paperback)
Kirkus Discoveries Review:
A college instructor shares his plan to help independent bookstores survive: shopping trips specially designed foróand marketed toótourist readers. Portzline conceived the idea for bookstore tourism after hearing a fellow community college instructor explain restaurant adventures he led in New York City. Wanting to own a bookstore himself, Portzline figured he could learn about the business by leading tourists on buying trips, beef up the bottom lines of independent retailers, earn money for himself and encourage reading. As of last August, Portzline had organized and led six bookstore tourism groups -- five to Greenwich Village in New York City and one to the Georgetown and Dupont Circle neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. Portzline's whim eventually evolved into a self-styled grassroots campaign -- he launched a Web site (BookstoreTourism.com), actively sought media attention and penned his guide to organizing journeys to independent retailers. The handy how-to section covers many common questions: Do you have to be some kind of expert to do this?; Who should consider planning a bookstore road trip?; What's the main purpose of your trip?; Will it cost anything to get started?; Who are you inviting?; How will you handle reservations?; Where do you want to go?; How long do you want the trip to be?; What day will you go?; etc. Even for those who don't take action with groups of their own, Portzline's guide is engaging reading because of the specific independent stores he mentions. They're not necessarily the most famous bookstores in the nation, nor does Portzline attempt to provide a comprehensive list. But each retailer has its own story to tell, and most will hold the interest of any book enthusiast. A slim but invigorating guide to an appealing and promising concept.
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