It should be no surprise that what’s “on fire” at Bookmark (5886 Spring Garden Road, 423-0419) this week is The Sentimentalist by Johanna Skibsrud, the Giller Prize-winning novel from Gaspereau Press. And even though the Douglas & McIntyre edition—hastily published to meet the demand for the novel since its big win—priced at $19.95 is very popular and available, Bookmark has a very lengthy list of customers who are holding out hope that the original Gaspereau Press edition— at $27.95—will be back in stock before Christmas. “The loyalty to Gaspereau is incredible,” says manager Mike Hamm, with perhaps a touch of pride for the Kentville publisher of the book, known nationally for its self-described “commitment to making books that reinstate the importance of the book as a physical object, reuniting publishing and the book arts.” As of Tuesday afternoon, there’s but a “thin chance” the Gaspereau edition will be restocked before December 25. —CK
This article appears in Dec 23-29, 2010.