In 1977, my mother and stepfather were living in England with my three youngst siblings. Sight unseen, they
purchased a book shop in Vermont. See www.TempestBookShop.com for a full history. I was in grad school, and helped
them when I could- summers and Christmas vacation. When I earned tenure at Roosevlt Universit in 1985, they decided
to sell the book shop. I decided to buy it from them and move from Chicago to Vermont to raise my family.
If you thinking running a book shop is a great occupation, you are right. It does not make much money, if any,
these days. But it is great place to raise kids and to be around people who love books.
The Tempest is located on Rte 100 (5031 Main Street) in Waitsfield Vermont near the Sugarbush and Mad River Glen ski
areas. The Mad River runs a few hundred yards away. Rte 100 is a major bicycle tour road. The Long Trail is a
branch of the Appalachian Trail, and runs a few miles away. The terms "jet set" was invented for this Valley
in 1964 by fashion designer Oleg Cassini, when there was scheduled jet service from LaGuardia NYC to Montpelier VT. Europe
was days away by airline. Vermont was a easy getaway, and had been for decades, as seen in the film "White Christmas"
for example. It is an outdoorsy, rural agricultural but also vibrant and entrepreneurial Valley. That accounts
for the Tempest Book Shop's success more than my business skills.
The Tempest Book Shop has strong section of children's book. fiction, home design, cooking, local authors, nature,
and biography.
The Tempest has over 1000 films to rent, with a recent inventory on
its web site.
The Tempest has the remains of a once-thriving music inventory; but CD sales
have diminished greatly.
We have two Lionel O-gauge trains- a long freight
pulled by a Union Pacific engine, and a Denver Zephyr passenger train- circled the inside of the shop on about 200 feet
of track.
Cards, maps, stationery, posters, guitar strings, journals, photo albums, fax
and print service, calendars, and eyeglasses.
We also are experts at replacing watch
batteries, with a full inventory of batteries and the right tools. We also do minor watch repairs.
Daily 10-6 Sunday 12-5.