For the love of a good book

By F. Josephine Arrowood
Sun contributor

I work part-time at the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor, located in a historic, 85-year-old log cabin that used to nestle over on Big Glen Lake. From its patinated floorboards, every nook and cranny is jammed to the bark-covered beams with books, posters, original art, books, maps, local authors, books, Native American traditional crafts, greeting cards … and books.

But independent bookstores are not gigantic money makers, and those of us who own or work in said shops (however picturesque) are essentially in the retail trade, with its slender wages, long hours, miles of paperwork, and modest return on investment. That said, why do we do it? Why immerse ourselves in the world of printed pages, wherein dazzling, dangerous language and diverse ideas can wield the power to change lives?

We care about being at the hub of a small, close-knit community — open all year, providing a place and the intersecting space to share stories, trade observations, and practice the neighborly arts of village life. Yes, I live in a different village, but the entire county is essentially a small town, whose residents and visitors are typically separated by only two degrees of separation, instead of the usual six.

And all find a welcome at the Cottage Book Shop: a respite that invites the weary sojourner to sit a spell, browse the shelves, flip a few pages, and get lost in translation: from our own busy, mundane lives to someone else’s infinitely fascinating world. A business that, despite its truck with far-off publishing houses, rapidly changing technology, and exotic reads in all genres, still manages to stay true to the local roots of commerce. A place to savor favorite authors’ works, discover new ones (both on the shelf and at book signings), browse for clues to local history and lore, and pass on the love of reading to the next generation.

Barbara Siepker, owner of the Cottage Book Shop, works tirelessly and often behind the scenes to collaborate with community members to promote reading. For a second year, she has signed on as Leelanau County’s only participating distributor for World Book Night (WBN) U.S., scheduled for April 23.

Here’s how it works: Book lovers sign up to receive 20 free copies of a book title to distribute to underserved readers (be they reluctant, marginal or unable to easily access books) of all ages in the Leelanau and Grand Traverse areas. The boxes of books are shipped to the Cottage Book Shop about the second week of April; book ambassadors pick up their selection, and distribute to their chosen organization, school or other recipients on April 23, UNESCO’s International Day of the Book.

Printing and shipping costs are donated by the publishers, and authors waive royalties to these special WBN editions. Some of this year’s 30 titles include Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, baseball story Moneyball, humor by Tina Fey and David Sedaris, Playing for Pizza by John Grisham, children’s books by Rick Riordan and James Patterson, Favorite American Poems and two titles in Spanish.

Siepker, a former children’s social worker and psychotherapist from Chicago, speaks passionately about her beliefs: “My participation in it is getting books in the hands of people who have not read since the days of required school reading. I’ve been concerned about it for years; statistics show they don’t read!”

She continues, “I was very excited when I found out about [World Book Night]. It’s very important to put books into the hands of non-readers.” She urges community members who may want to participate — but aren’t sure how or where — to sign up at no cost by the Jan. 25 deadline, either though the Cottage Book Shop (if they are here in late April) or in their own community. The World Book Night U.S. website has a map showing where the nearest distributor is located by zip code. Find the link at www.CottageBooks.com. Last year, some 25,000 volunteers distributed over half a million books in participating countries.

“If they’re willing to distribute, we can help them find a way, or make a connection,” she emphasizes. “Not everyone reads a newspaper — people can pass on this information. If they know of anyone who could use these books — as long as it’s getting into the hands of the people who need to be reading — that’s what’s so important.” Last year, Leelanau volunteers took books to a local doctor’s office waiting room, youth groups, senior centers, the Traverse City ReHabitat store, a migrant health clinic, community soccer games and more.

About World Book Night, weekend staff person Kim Mann laughs, “I can give away a case of books! It’s important to give books, especially with kids. I always tell them, ‘If you’ve got a book, you’ll never be bored.’ It opens doors to a lot of opportunities.”

She explains her own love of books: “It’s in the blood — my mom is a retired teacher; it comes with the territory.” She donated her books to SEEDS, an after-school program for at-risk youth based in Traverse City. This year, she’s gone even further, inviting SEEDS staffers to sign up as WBN book distributors for the young people in their programs in several counties, including Leelanau.

Staffer Jill Webb took Sherman Alexie’s True Story of a Part-time Indian to several places, including an assisted living facility. At a local Ben Franklin store, she announced, “I have books for people who have gotten out of the habit of reading!” This prompted a conversation with the clerk, who revealed that she worked with a Native American women’s support group, and took some copies for them.

Webb, who taught in Kansas City before moving to Leelanau County, retired as the children’s librarian at Glen Lake School several years ago. She calls her work at the book shop, “the perfect retirement job!”

Betsy Wagner of Glen Arbor and Chicago was at the store recently, helping with inventory. She said, “I took mine [also Sherman Alexie] to the Glen Lake Reformed Church’s Tuesday night food pantry distribution.”

The retired middle-school librarian, French tutor, and book translator for Delacorte Press said, “I always loved to read. Occasionally I even write to authors — I have gotten responses. To me, meeting an author is like a kid meeting a basketball star!”

She reflects on Siepker’s many efforts to share this excitement about the worlds contained in books: “There’s the two book clubs, the Book of the Month Club, the children’s summer outdoor reading each week, inviting authors to book signings. That’s all huge outreach — it seems to me, it’s all about promoting reading.”

Last winter, Siepker and friends of the book shop got together to provide books to a group of school children in Romania. Writer and educator Kathleen Stocking was serving in the Peace Corps, teaching 500 fifth-grade and eighth-grade students in the town of Craiova (see the Glen Arbor Sun article “Letter from Romania,” July 2012). With slender resources as a Peace Corps volunteer in a country she described as Third World in many ways, Stocking was determined to help her students explore vital ideas and issues — such as freedom, democracy and the effects of bigotry on society — through children’s literature, and her students’ writing. As one example, she paired the book To Kill a Mockingbird with the movie Ruby Bridges and The Blind Side.

In an e-mail, she said, “Reading creates democracy. Reading is our best weapon globally against totalitarianism and fascism. Books change lives. Books change minds. People change the world. The kids are the same kids that we have in Michigan.”

Siepker sent out an appeal via email and through the Cottage Book Shop website, and book shop patrons responded warmly and generously to the needs of these young readers. With shipping costs donated by the book shop, they sent several care packages of donated books, DVDs and past issues of Exposures (the Leelanau County-wide publication of high school students’ writing and artwork) to serve as a template for Stocking’s pupils.

The book shop also recently collaborated for another year with the Friends of the Glen Lake Community Library on their successful Holiday Book Drive. This initiative brings new books to local children whose families may be experiencing some form of hardship. Kathy Bartell of Maple City coordinates Glen Lake School’s “Parenting Communities,” and identified children of all ages needing books. The bookstore kept a list of each child by gender and age, and offered a 20 percent discount for each donated book, as well as gift wrapping (provided at the store by Friend Laurel Jeris). Book drive chairwoman Lynn Becker collected the boxes of wrapped books, which the Friends then distributed in time for the holidays.

David Diller, the Glen Lake Community Library Director, recalls, “The book drive started at least 14 years ago, when the Friends hosted their last holiday open house. It really is a tradition now. For younger children especially, a book still has appeal — we hope so, anyhow!”

Last year, over 220 books were donated by community members who care deeply about reading. Reportedly, this year’s goal was also successfully met by the area’s enthusiastic book givers. Bookstore customer Connie Olsen echoed the sentiments of many donors, saying, “I love books; I just want people to read.” And that, simply put, is the Cottage Book Shop’s mission as well.