Even during the Great Depression, people were still reading.
Consider the Utility of Having a Subchapter S Corp
As a bookseller and a publisher, we are set up using a Subchapter S Corporation. You will have to consult with your accountant to see if this will benefit you. I can tell you that from our perspective the tax advantages are very significant (in our favor).
Treat Your Existing Clients Well! Go for Repeat Sales
Anybody in sales will tell you that the cost of a new sale far outweighs that of a follow-up sale, which can be made by telephone or on a private secure site avoiding the commissions on the megasites. We treat our clients well; we always give them contact information, no matter the size of the sale, and we check in with our clients, from time to time, when other books are available in their area of interest.
Take Control of the Hidden Costs Like Currency Conversion
We have active currency conversion accounts which enable us to send and receive money in virtually any foreign currency. Unlike going to a bank, where you have to take whatever rate you get, we can decide when to launch the transaction for the best rates and we do not pay pesky foreign currency deposit or wire transfer costs, as we are always working within the country.
Diversify
Although we have strengths and specialize, we do not keep all of our holdings in one particular area. We are publishers as well as booksellers, and we're always looking for new projects.
Working Off the Grid
For the last thirty years we have been developing our property to make it increasingly "off the grid". We currently heat our buildings with passive solar, a modified glass-blowing furnace, as well as conventional gas/hot water. We're planning active solar, and as soon as zoning permits, a windmill. We long ago super-insulated the buildings and put triple-glazed insulated windows in them. We've changed all our light bulbs and our appliances are pretty much all Energy Star.
I think we're all going to go for an economic ride, but as far as I can tell nobody has given up on reading yet!
Renée Magriel Roberts can be reached at renee@roses-books.com, planning her garden for next year.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
