Got libros?

La Casa Azul Bookstore is a few months away from opening in East Harlem and we are excited to announce that we will be selling used books!

The bookstore needs your help to stock up the shelves for the initial store inventory.

If you are interested in donating books, please take a moment to read our used book guidelines and stop by the store this Sunday February 19 to drop off books.  

Books that are in great condition and meet the requirements will receive store credit towards the purchase of other books at La Casa Azul Bookstore.

We will carry many different types of books (poetry, general fiction, history, biography, cooking, children's and more) BUT we will specialize in books by and about Latino culture (sorry, no Nicholas Sparks).

Books we cannot accept:

• Books that are damaged or missing covers
• Books with writing, highlighting, or other markings
• Hardcover books that are missing their dust jackets
• Former library books (cellophane jacket wrapping or dewey decimal stickers)
• Magazines, catalogs, encyclopedias, textbooks, computer/software manuals, galleys or travel books

Book drop-off day

Sunday February 19, 2012

12:00pm - 5:00pm

La Casa Azul Bookstore

143 E. 103rd Street (between Lexington & Park Ave.) 

New York, NY 10029

Transportation: 6 train to 103rd St.

Read about the campaign on NY Remezcla 

 

P.S.

If you don't want to lug the books back home you don't have to. We will donate the books we don't accept to Housing Works.

This week’s TO-DO list

1. Finalize bookstore color scheme
2. Try pastries from bakery #1
3. Find an electrician
4. Try pastries from bakery #2
5. Set up QuickBooks
6. Try pastries from bakery #3
7. Decide on floor plan layout  
8. Try pastries from bakery #4
9. Select floor finish
10. Join the gym

What would I do without my agenda?

Lately my schedule has been filled up by meetings with architects, contractors and interior designers. Last Monday I had 6 meetings – and by the end of the day, I couldn’t remember who was who. Design ideas were flowing – from color, to tiles, to fixtures, I was on design overload!    

More meetings are planned - with publishers, artists, plumbers, electricians, software companies and bakeries - yes, bakeries too! 

I am in search of the perfect pastries from a local, independent shop.

Know a local bakery I should try? 

Email me the bakery name/website: lucha.libros(at)gmail.com

Thank you!

  

 

Three Kings Day

Last week, El Museo del Barrio celebrated the 35^th annual Three Kings Day parade – thousands of school children walked down the streets of East Harlem, along with marching bands, floats, music groups and camels. 

The parade is a celebration of the 3 Kings Day tradition, and I have had the privilege of organizing the annual event for three years. 

Between parade planning and the holidays, I hadn't posted and update on the bookstore’s progress – but there is so much coming up for La Casa Azul Bookstore that updates will post more often.

For campaign supporters who gave at the PUBLISHER, AGENT and EDITOR level – your ‘Got Libros?’ shirt was mailed last week.

 

Seeking independent businesses to hire for bookstore buildout

La Casa Azul Bookstore is opening soon in East Harlem, and is looking for the following:

REGISTERED ARCHITECT (RA) or PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER (PE)

Must be licensed in NYC

Company/person should be available to work on floor plan this month. 

Provide: contact information, 2 references and website with sample work or images of sample work.

Write RA or PE on the subject line. 

CONTRACTOR

Must be licensed in NYC

Company/person should be available to complete the job during the months of January and February.

Able to subcontract electrician and plumber.

Provide: contact information, 2 references and website with sample work or images of sample work.

Write CONTRACTOR on the subject line. 

WEBSITE DEVELOPER

Provide: contact information, 2 references and links to sample work.

Write WEBSITE DEVELOPER on the subject line.  

 

Thank you!

Email: lucha.libros@gmail.com

Website:  www.lacasaazulbookstore.com

Blog: http://luchalibrosnyc.blogspot.com/

La Proxima Pagina

Five years ago I was on my way to work and decided to take a different route to the office, turning on 103rd Street, instead of 104th Street. On 103rd Street and Lexington Ave I picked up a copy of the local paper and read about a business course that was starting the following month. I enrolled in the course, and began the journey that has brought me to this point. That was the first of many classes that I took to learn about business and the book industry. In that class I shared, for the first time, my idea of opening a bookstore in East Harlem.

Five years later - I stand once again on the corner of 103rd Street and Lexington Ave, in front of the retail space that La Casa Azul Bookstore can call home. Finding a location for the bookstore has been a challenge in itself, having been so close to signing a lease several times over the years- this moment is very surreal - but it's also extraordinary!

THANK YOU to the friends and supporters who have cheered me on, encouraging me to keep moving forward when I felt like giving up. THANK YOU to the Founder's Circle members who contributed to the 40K in 40 days campaign, this would not have been possible without your support. THANK YOU all for believing in me. I will see you at the grand opening!   

Holding the keys to La Casa Azul Bookstore!

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Stay connected to what La Casa Azul Bookstore is doing as it prepares to open in East Harlem. Photos, videos and blog entries will be posted on the Lucha Libros blog.

Somos Lectores

Book lovers at the Feria Internacional del Libro

For 25 years La Feria Internacional del Libro has  brought together authors and book lovers in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. This year, I was one of the 25,000+ people who attended the 9 day book festival. The city’s convention center became the gathering place for bibliophiles – with multiple pavilions, including a section dedicated entirely to children! Publishing houses from Mexico and all over the world had books on display and for sale – panels, book talks, recitals and music concerts were happening throughout the day, for 9 days.

My cousin, uncle and I at the Feria Internacional del Libro

My family is from Jalisco, so I took a few extra days to spend time with aunts, uncle and cousins and got to visit the town where I would spend my summer vacations as a child. The town looks the same as it did back then; brightly colored houses, stone paved streets, roosters crowing at 4 in the morning. It’s a small farming town, cows and goats share the streets with tractors and trucks.

I love visiting, I always learn something new about my family’s history and I am reminded of where I come from – and for that, I am grateful.

Visiting my home town