April 28, 2011 
Michael 
Sometimes, you just want one thing done right. You go to Crumbs or Sprinkles for cupcakes, DiFara for pizza, Umami for a burger. You know they only do one thing and do it well. What about books? Sure, you could go to Mysterious Galaxy for mystery (ok, and other types) books, or head over to O’Reilly for your technology tomes. That’s what vertical is all about! But what about a store that sells just one book? Now you have it! Andrew Kessler is selling his book, Martian Summer, out of a storefront in New York’s West Village. It certainly is great advertising, even if I can’t quite figure out the economics of it all. The again, the article ends with the charming Mr. Kessler explaining, “I’m not a very good businessperson.” Indeed. But the free advertising he just got in the New York Times might well be worth it!
The line about art installations really struck me, because that’s what I would have assumed this was if I walked by it on the street. It’s a puzzling idea to have a store sell only one thing; even Sprinkles sells different kinds of (delicious) cupcakes. But the note on his sidewalk chalkboard would have made me laugh and come in, if nothing else did!
“Mr. Kessler, the beneficiary of a supportive landlord, said the store would likely close in mid-May, when the next tenant was expected to move in.”
Translation: “This pal of mine had a storefront that he wasn’t using, so I asked him ‘Hey, mind if I borrow that for a publicity stunt masquerading as a postmodern commentary on the degredation of print media or somesuch?’”
Classic New York moment — half commercialism, half incomprehensible artistic statement. Gotta love the city. ^_^
Love this story. Thanks!