Themes

[LadyHitchhiker]

So I work at a book store and I came up with this idea for one of our tables. We did the adventure table which included treasure hunting, Indiana Jones, National Treasure, Clive Cussler, pirates, etc.,.

Well I did such a good job and our sales were up so now she let me pick out a new table: I did the green table (including saving the environment and animals and stuff)

This is my dilemma. She's talking about changing it up every 2 weeks and so I'm wondering if I have to come up with an idea every 2 weeks (which actually I love doing the tables but I don't want to run out of ideas) so I'm trying to stock up on themes.

Anyone have some good ideas? I wanted to do Olympics but we don't have enough of that stuff in our store...

[Darkthoughts]

Cool, I like that!

Well, a magic theme was the first to pop in my head - JK Rowling, Diana Wynne Jones, Tolkien, Gaiman...the list is endless

Hmmm...I think about some more...

[Odetta]

[Ms. Obvious]hmmm... how about Stephen King?[/Ms. Obvious]


How about a food table?
Animals?
Environmental/green Table?

[Míchéal]

sex table?

[Ves'Ka Gan]

So I work at a book store and I came up with this idea for one of our tables. We did the adventure table which included treasure hunting, Indiana Jones, National Treasure, Clive Cussler, pirates, etc.,.

Well I did such a good job and our sales were up so now she let me pick out a new table: I did the green table (including saving the environment and animals and stuff)

This is my dilemma. She's talking about changing it up every 2 weeks and so I'm wondering if I have to come up with an idea every 2 weeks (which actually I love doing the tables but I don't want to run out of ideas) so I'm trying to stock up on themes.

Anyone have some good ideas? I wanted to do Olympics but we don't have enough of that stuff in our store...

Honestly, if you get to do a table every two weeks it IS SO MUCH FUN!! I miss it the most from working at Borders. It's like getting paid to shop for cool books

You can even do looser themes than "Olympics" you could do a table with sports featured in the Olympics...since its summer, I would say the summer games. I personally really enjoyed doing tables with off the wall themes, like the "The Physics of..." books they have like the Simpsons and Super Hereos, etc. and if I didn't have neough to fill the table, I could get books about the Simpsons, to put next to "The Physics of the Simpsons"....etc. There is a ton you can do with it if you have a decent sized bookstore!

Good luck!

[razz]

a "Classics" theme, a war theme...

[ZoNeSeeK]

What about a travel table? so you could have guides and also travel writing non fiction etc

[LemurJones]

Fairy tale table, gardening table, zombies/undead table, ancient cultures table, cute animals that aren't kittens or puppies table, extreme sports table...

[LadyHitchhiker]

I was so excited, another store's regional manager came in and liked my table so much that he took PICTURES of it!!!!!!!!!! Isn't this too cool????

Now she's letting me pick out two tables!!!!

[razz]

oooh zombies! NICE!

[LadyHitchhiker]

Soon another table is coming...

I thought of going with an aquatic theme because then I can pull from history, bargain, kids, adventure, etc., etc., etc.,.

I like my table ideas because they come from all over the store... They get people who would otherwise overlook them..

but that means I still need to come up with another table idea... probably something boring like back to school or something will have to go up soon.

[LadyHitchhiker]

Soon another table is coming...

I thought of going with an aquatic theme because then I can pull from history, bargain, kids, adventure, etc., etc., etc.,.

I like my table ideas because they come from all over the store... They get people who would otherwise overlook them..

but that means I still need to come up with another table idea... probably something boring like back to school or something will have to go up soon.

[LadyHitchhiker]

ooooh after the aquatic table I am doing a "heroes" table, so I can put people who are superheroes, people who make a difference in real life, etc.,.

Soooo exciting! The heroes table will accompany a back to school table (traditional but good)

[LadyHitchhiker]

we decided to do the heroes table before the aquatic table... next it will be the politics stuff and halloween what with all that coming up...

[razz]

how about a table for foreign authors?

[Jean]

what kind of theme is that? what is there to unite them except for them being foreign?

[razz]

i don't know just a thought.

[Jean]

senior citizens

animals in kids' lives (like, Black Beauty etc)

time travel

[razz]

what's there to unite senior citizens except being old

*cough*

sorry.

[Jean]

yes, that's the thing - it's difficult to think of a good theme. I still think that "foreign literature" is no more a theme than "American literature" - only the foreign would take a much bigger table.

[razz]

touche'
how about Stephen King's
"I'm not Oprah and this is not my book club" book list?

[Woofer]

When I was in the Honors Program in college, one of our monster courses was Five Major Cities of the World (and Birmingham). Perhaps you could do something like that, only one major city per table. That way each table could be a part X of Y in a series. It wouldn't even have to be cities per se. You could do countries or regions or whatever.

How about a ___________ for Dummies table since there are so many ___________ for Dummies books these days. Of course you don't want the customers to think you're calling them dummies. That's to be done here in the "displeased and bothered" thread.

[LadyHitchhiker]

See the difficult thing about doing a table, is that you don't want to pull from one area of the store so that way it's barren, so that's why we come up with themes. And unfortunately we're not a huge store like Barnes and Nobles and have only three tables that aren't in the children's section and one of those is a worker's pick table, so it takes some creativity.

I love the idea for a zombie table; unfortunately, not enough zombie stuff, and my manager's kind of prude, so there also goes the sex table... And I understand her point because this is sort of a family store, and we need to attract families and not chase them away. For every one person we piss off, they will tell 5 people and they will tell more.

We have done a travel table, and unfortunately, we already have a travel section, Sooooooo that means that we're massively depleting a section.

The same is true with doing a regional table, or a military history table, new age, crafts, fiction, non fiction, sci-fi, classics, poetry, dungeons and dragons, adventure, children's, young readers, teens, relationships, self help, inspirational, bibles, etc.,.

I considered the For Dummies table, but Jan didn't seem thrilled about it. She likes my more cerebreal ideas, such as the green, adventure, heroes... So I guess I really have to put my brain into my ideas.

I love the idea of doing another kid's table that is more specific, Jean. I think it's a good idea. I mean we have a kid's table int he back of the store, but it has more board books and just is used for excess items. I love integrating kids books into every table that I make, because I think it's important to not underestimate the kids out there that are reading, and to involve them in different subjects than what they may be normally used to.

Stephen King as a table itself will critically deplete our horror section. He is a hardcore part of that section. I would love to do a featured author table, but I'm really not sure it would fly with Jan. That isn't bringing forth different sections so that people will buy something they wouldn't normal think of grabbing.

[LadyHitchhiker]

I do have Stephen King's The Dark Tower and The Stand on my Heroes table, though...

[LadyHitchhiker]

It's almost that time again to start making my themed tables

i was jealous going to the Escanaba store though. They have like 8 tables and we only have four!