by Jeffrey A. Rothermel Captain's Log August 15-16, 2026 Seminole Valley Farm Museum One weekend a year, I close my environmentally controlled and comfortable showroom and travel north to the humid and misty riverbanks of the Cedar Rapids. This was my fifth year of selling books from a tent in harmony with mother nature and her occasional outbursts. Why dare the misfortune of damaged paper from moisture? Believe it or not... nothing better than a rainy outdoor weekend of a

Bookselling in a snowstorm. Nine inches of snow fell in Iowa City, Iowa on small business Saturday. The storm disrupted in person book browsing on Small Business Saturday, but not internet book orders that continued to surge.