From the Office

by Alan Beatts

My, it's much easier to focus on writing (or anything else) this month compared to early January.  That was one very weird time in the US.  Things are still pretty weird, I grant you, but the improvement is notable.  I hope that you are all doing well and staying safe.

We're one month into the year and our annual sponsorship renewal process.  As I mentioned last month, we have been dependent on our sponsorship program to offset higher payroll costs since 2015.  Each year 300 or more people sponsor us with a $100 contribution.  That process has not only allowed Borderlands to remain in operation but was the basis for the direct borrowing that allowed us to buy the building that will be our future home on Haight St.  Due to the economic effects of last year, moreso than ever before, sponsorships are critical for our continued operation.  If you've never been a sponsor before, now would be a great time to start.  You can sign up on-line here - https://borderlands-books.com/v2/become-sponsor/, come in person, or call us to sign-up via credit card.  We're even happy to take checks via mail (if you're going to go the mail route, please include your full name, phone number, email address and mailing address).

If you'd like to know more about the history of sponsorship and the benefits associated with it, take a look here - https://borderlands-books.com/v2/sponsorships/

One of the benefits that doesn't appear on that list is access to preview sales when we buy large, interesting book collections.  Last month I took a trip to Seattle and purchased an extensive library (over two and a half _tons_ of books).  It's a really neat collection and very wide-ranging.  I haven't unpacked all the boxes yet but so far there have been things ranging from good paperback reading copies (right now we have more Philip K. Dick paperbacks than anytime in the past decade) all the way to mid-20th century classics (for example, the nicest first edition of Who Goes There by John W. Campbell that I have _ever_ seen).  It's a good collection and there are a huge number of books (by my estimate it's around 4000 individual books).

There's another element to this sale as well; since we're going to need to make room for all those books when we get them inventoried, this sale will also include a 25% discount on all our used books (including the rare books behind the counter).

I mention all this to you for two reasons.

First, the preview sale for our sponsors will be on Thursday, February 11th.  The shop will be closed to the public that day, which is one thing you should know, but, more importantly, it's not too late to get a sponsorship and come to the sale.

Second, right now our used paperback sections are filled with really great stuff because we entered those books from the boxes we've sorted first.  It's not going to last though so, if you're in the market for some paperbacks that you don't see used often, come on by.  Also, over the next few months as we inventory all those books, you can expect that there will be a lot of neat books, mostly hardcover, showing up in the shop.  So, as they say, shop early and often.