With any luck, every book fair begins with a clipboard and a sense of hope, but few PTAs ends up with money in their pockets from this approach. The distance between net proceeds and gross sales (the difference between how much you sold and how much you’ll ultimately need to pay) often define your book […]

The third box of hardcovers goes on top, and the slightest creaking noise come from the wood beneath. The wood will tell you when physics has taken over. Gravity doesn’t care if you love the books. That is just what gravity does. Shelves are deceptive thing. When they sag, it doesn’t feel like anything has […]

With a tape measure in hand, you walk over to your wall and measure it. Done? Maybe not. Knowing the physical length of your room don’t tell you much about what that room can hold. How wide is each book on your shelves? How big a gap do you want between them, and how does […]

Stand in front of an empty shelf of BOOKS and ask yourself: How many will I be able to fit? Sounds like a straightforward geometry exercise, doesn’t it? Horizontal space plus a pile of book spines equals number on paper. Except as any enthusiastic librarian will tell you, it’s messier than that. Before the shelf […]