Battenkill Books a finalist for bookstore of year
Border Czar Tom Homan threatens investigation regarding Sacket's Harbor protest
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I had never been to Battenkill Books in Cambridge until I actually wrote a book and was looking to sell it.
As a first-time author selling is the tough part, but I found a willing partner in Connie Brooks at Battenkill Books. She not only carried the first book - and the two that followed - but she hosted several events taround my books.
Battenkill Books is one of those of old-fashioned small-town businesses we don't see much anymore. It's more than a store, it's a library a learning center, a resource for the entire town.
I was so impressed after my first visit, it begged the question, how is tiny Cambridge with less than 2,000 residents able to support this wonderful, little bookstore and Glens Falls cannot.
Despite my relationship with Battenkill over the past few years, I'm just now discovering the backstory of why and how.
The store was originally founded by a local poet name Ken Denberg in 1989. Brooks moved to Cambridge around 2007 before purchasing the business in 2009.
“We had just moved to Cambridge two or three years earlier,” Brooks told Publishers Weekly. “We loved the community and wanted to do something that was centered here, that was about community building. And then this bookstore was for sale, for a good price.”
The timing was not good with the country settling into the Great Recession and Kindle appeared ready to revolutionize the book business.
"Customers were saying that print was dead,” Brooks said.
That was 16 years ago.
This week, Publishers Weekly, the industry’s foremost trade magazine, named Battenkill Books as one of five finalists for the national 2025 Bookseller-of-the-Year honors.
In a press release, "Publishers Weekly noted Battenkill Books’ innovative programming, focus on youth and the arts, and superior customer service as distinguishing factors in its decision."
I'd add being open to selling local and first-time authors as well.
Publishers Weekly went on to say, “...community outreach is where Battenkill really shines. Brooks and bookseller Heather Boyne regularly provide book recommendations on WAMC, a public radio station that reaches listeners in parts of seven Northeastern states. Battenkill hosts a weekly “sit and knit” evening for customers that has proved popular. And Battenkill sponsors the Adirondack Art Chair Project, in which teens decorate chairs with literary themes; they are then displayed up and down Main Street all summer.”
“To be honored by this recognition….I’m just stunned,” Brooks said in a press release. “Creating a community resource has always been central to my vision for the store. And my staff and I work tirelessly to provide customer service that goes above and beyond, and to make each and every person who walks through the door feel welcome. To be recognized at the national level for what this store has become….well, it is beyond my wildest dreams.”
Bookstores must be nominated by industry peers and are then voted on by a panel of editors at Publishers Weekly. The other four finalists, and the overall winner, will be announced in the coming weeks.
But here is the part of story that speaks the loudest.
Brooks has the audacity of operating this bookstore in the smallest of markets.
Publishers Weekly goes on to say, "Not only did Brooks prove those naysayers wrong, over the past 16 years she and her seven employees have shaped Battenkill Books into a vibrant community hub that extends beyond the town of Cambridge."
Battenkill Books now operates out of a 2,000-square-foot space on Main Street in Cambridge - never an issue finding a parking place - and carries 7,500 titles with an heavy emphasis on children's books, adult fiction and what I can attest to personally, local history and authors.
Publishers Weekly reports that the programming that Brooks is most proud of is “Mud U,” a pop-up community education program that launched in 2022 and takes place in venues all over town in late March. “There were 25 classes the first year, and 40 this year, from sourdough bread making basics, to genealogical research, to how to grow houseplants; 500 people attended at least one class this year,” Brooks says. “Mud U has been my baby.” Noting that the season between winter and spring can be a period of “loneliness and isolation” for local residents, Mud U, which is free to all participants, is, Brooks says, “a way to connect with people in your community.”
It is clear that Battenkill Books is not just a bookstore, but a community institution.
Thanks to Connie Brooks and her staff.
The full announcement can be found here:
Rest of the story
Tucked into the press release about Battkenkill Book's nomination for the national award was this small nugget that got my attention:
"The past year was marked by the store stepping into a national advocacy role, with co-owner Chris Callahan (Connie's husband) invited to testify before the US Senate Judiciary Committee regarding credit card swipe fee reform."
What? Huh?
So I called Connie.
"This is one of least sexy topics you could have but everyone is affect by it. Every small business is affected by it," Connie said.
Battenkill Books belongs to a national organization called the American Booksellers Association which organizes national lobbying fly-in days to Washington, D.C. They often are looking for real people to tell their stories about how rules and regulations affect their businesses.
Last year, Connie and Chris agreed the next time they asked for volunteers, Chris would volunteer to go. That happened last fall and Chris as chosen. He met with Rep. Elise Stefanik and Rep. Marc Molinaro along with several out-of-state lawmakers and representatives of Sen. Schumer's staff.
Connie related that several weeks later he got a call asking if he was available to speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing with the major credit card companies Visa and Mastercard.
This was big-league politics.
At one point, Sen. Josh Hawley questioned Chris Callahan and his response went viral on TikTok.
"All the young people in our family were calling and saying, `Uncle Chris is on TikTok," Connie said. "He got to make the case that we have zero power to negotiate these (credit card) fees."
Apparently, if you search for Josh Hawley and Chris Callahan on TikTok you can still see the clip.
"He (Chris) still can't believe it happened," Connie said.
Battenkill Books is located at 15 East Main St., in Cambridge, NY. They are open seven days a week, excluding major holidays. They can be found by phone at 518-677-2515 and online at www.battenkillbooks.com.
It can happen to you
Roland Van Deusen, a reader and frequent commenter in this space, reported that WWNY-TV in Watertown reported that Deportation Czar Tom Homan, a North Country resident, told the TV station that "criminal investigations have begun" and prosecutions will follow over the protests against ICE snatching up a local family.
VanDeusen wrote Thursday in this space, "Almost 20 anti-Trump letters of mine in the local papers, I may be a high profile target if he's not bluffing. They can find me w/my "Save the VA" sign in Watertown's Public Square. Any pro Bono lawyers out there?"
The protests, which VanDeusen was part of with 1,000 other people, led to the family being returned to the North Country.
VanDeusen has been especially outspoken over protecting veterans.
The Trump administration is threatening on coming after you because you are exercising freedom of speech.
Stefanik for governor?
North Country Public Radio reported on Tuesday that Rep. Elise Stefanik is considering a possible run for governor against Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The anonymous sources claimed to be privy to conversations Stefanik has had but they didn't name with who.
It seems far-fetched.
As the moderate upstate congresswoman willing to reach across the aisle, I could see her having a chance against an unpoular democratic governor, but not as an ultra-MAGA, Trump-loving conservative.
I don't see where she would have much of a chance.
But I said the same thing about Trump being re-elected.
Qby TB to meet Monday
Reminder that the Queensbury Town Board will meet on Monday.
It follows up on the last Town Board meeting where three different conflicts of interests among Town employees - two Town Board members and the retiring cemetery commissioner - played out in real time as the reitring cemetery commissioner seemed to be angling for a say in her successor despite the fact she is the chair of the Queensbury Republican Committee.
The bigger issue is of course Town Board member Tim McNulty's continued defiance of Queensbury's Board of Ethics ruling that he had an "appearance" of a conlfict of interest that should be addressed by the town board.
Nearly 10 members of the public have addressed the Town Board on this issue and it has done nothing.
I'd urge any citizens who have concerns about this issue to address it with the Town Board Monday night. They are just ignoring the Ethics Board and the voters.
Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.
Elise…ewwwww.
PerCzar Homan, everyone wearing a Chicago Bulls hat is a member of MS 13.
This lifelong Celtics fan just purchased a Bulls hat