Inventory, Peter Hessler, Iron Cupcake

My schedule is off this week because Amie and I worked last night; we had a physical inventory done in the store. We have friends at other bookstores who do the inventories themselves, but I just couldn't handle it this year. I have one friend in Vermont who caters the annual inventory for The Norwich Bookstore. I'm sure it's delicious, because I used to be one of her preppers at the Collis Cafe when I went to Dartmouth. And one of our customers could have been Annette Gordon-Reed, who I just found out overlapped me by a few years. I didn't know here, but I just put The Hemingses of Monticello on another display. Let's just say that the book didn't need my help, but I've been trying to figure out how to work that into a blog post.

Here's a little shot how they keep track of each book case. Our final number came out about 1.5% off from our computer, which means I owe Amie a coffee.

We did finish a bit early, but with coming in early to help set up, my clock is off. I did get a blog piece done for an event we're doing, but in this particular case, I wanted it vetted by a few people so it's been delayed. But what should I talk about in this post?

This morning I ordered event books. I had a surge of bookings late last week, including Peter Hessler at the store for Country Driving in paperback (definitely more about this later), and a gig at the next Iron Cupcake, "Pro/Am Cupcake Clash", where the judges will be Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes, who has the Ace of Cakes book, and Vinny and Michele Garcia of Chicago's Bleeding Heart Bakery. They also have a book called Who You Callin' Cupcake. We'll have both for sale, and the authors will sign.

The event is Sunday, February 13th at the MSOE Kern Center, cosponsored by WMSE and a host of others. It starts at 10 am and admission is $6. More information is available on the Iron Cupcake blog. Go, Sandy!

Oh, and I'm a jury duty alternate. Time to call in!