Knee-deep in winter

Wandering leisurely through a good bookstore is a marvelous thing, and we’re blessed on this Island to have two such institutions –– and even more so that they’re open seven days a week, year-round. So, still knee-deep in winter, I became curious about how our two tome-based stores “survive,” when many businesses on their streets are closed.

Edgartown Books began in 1985 as Bickerton & Ripley’s Bookstore. Its subsequent owners, David and Ann LeBreton, changed the name. Under its current ownership by Jeffrey and Joyce Sudikoff, Edgartown Books has been open year-round continuously since 2016. 

Like Bunch of Grapes, founded in 1964 in Vineyard Haven, Edgartown Books depends on summer sales to help support staying open during the off-season. “We want the bookstore to be open in the winter for the town,” says buyer and manager Mathew Tombers. Unlike previous years, they closed the doors this January to redo the floors and take inventory. Now up and running again, Tombers notes, “Surprisingly enough, some of the people who come in during the winter are those looking to get away. This February, in particular, has been filled with people who have summer homes here but have never been on-Island in the winter, and they find it charming.”

Molly Coogan, Bunch of Grapes’ buyer and its owner since 2022, remarks about the off-season, “It’s the perfect time, because things are a little bit slower, and people who are here are catching up on the things they couldn’t read over the summer. Some long-standing book clubs always shop with us. Then there are families that come looking to buy gifts on the way to a birthday party on a Saturday morning. We have teens coming in after school. It really runs the gamut.”

Although foot traffic is quieter, that doesn’t mean Coogan and Tombers are less busy, as they spend some of their time deciding what to order for the summer season. “We look at analytics for how previous sales have been for a particular author or comparable title, and our institutional knowledge about what customers like,” says Coogan. “It’s also a matter of taste. If I know I can hand-sell a book because I really liked it or the author, I’ll bring it in, too.”

She continues, “A favorite category that sells well year-round is anything with an Island connection. At Christmas, it was the Fishermen’s [Preservation] Trust cookbook ‘The Sea Table,’ and Belle Burden’s ‘Strangers,’ which came out recently and is selling well.” Asked whether she buys more beach reads in the summer than in the winter, Coogan replies, “It’s funny, a lot of people who come to the Vineyard, their idea of a beach read is a long history book or political biography. ‘Beach read’ has a different meaning here. But certainly, Elin Hilderbrand flies off the shelves whether it’s July or November.”

Looking toward the summer, Tombers explains, “I haven’t got a sense of what it will be this year, but I think romance will be a big part of it, like last summer. ‘Heated Rivalry’ has become this incredible television sensation. It’s a gay romance, but it seems to be bolstering all romance.” Likewise, knowing that July 4 will be the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Tombers says, “I think there will be a renewed interest in the Founding Fathers.” 

Tombers also enjoys bringing in books of personal interest. “Lauren Groff’s ‘Brawler: Stories’ is coming out, and short stories typically don’t sell very well in our bookstore; but she’s a really interesting writer, so I’ll get a couple of copies.”

This winter, Tombers is having a hard time keeping “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans in stock, because it’s selling so well. The epistolary novel follows a woman in her 70s as she reflects on her life through letters and emails to friends, family, and even famous authors, confronting past trauma and seeking forgiveness. “It’s a wonderful book that pulls at your heartstrings in so many ways. I think people in general are looking for warmth. They want happiness, because we’re living in tough times.”

Tombers adds, “I’m always surprised about the young people who come into the store and buy the classics. It seems like the people I would expect to gravitate to the romance section just don’t. They look for the books that have weight to them.” Speaking more generally, Tombers says, “One of the more interesting comments I get winter, spring, summer, and fall is, ‘I’m looking for a beach read with a brain.’

“One of the great things about being open in the winter is that you have time to have conversations with people,” Tombers continues. “That’s the fun part, because they have time to talk, and so do I.”

Edgartown Books (508-627-8463) is open 10 am to 5 pm daily; Bunch of Grapes (508-693-2291) is open 10 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Saturday and 11 am to 5 pm Sunday.