After years of research and writing, author Sharon Yntema has published her latest book, Ithaca Area Bookstores: Two Hundred years of Bookstore History in Tompkins County 1819-2019. A compendium of retail operations dedicated to purveying books offers a history of a reading community through the lens of bookstores. Sharon agreed to an interview about her new release. Q: When were the first bookstores opened in Ithaca? The first bookstore in Ithaca was opened in 1819 by Ebenezer Mack, who also founded the Ithaca Journal. His bookstore was small, and located in the area where the Tompkins County Public Library now stands. He imported a few books, according to Ithaca Journal ads at the time, but also owned a paper mill and published books at his printing press. Cornell University was founded in 1865, forty-six years later. Q: How long have you lived in Ithaca and what was the first bookstore you visited in Ithaca? I moved to Ithaca in 1975. The first bookstore I visited was McBooks, which was also the first bookstore I worked in. The owner, Alex Skutt, taught me how to do bookkeeping for the store which served me well in jobs over the next 50 years. In 1980, McBooks Press published the first book I wrote, Vegetarian Baby, which was translated into 6 other languages. I owe my introduction to all levels of a bookstore to Alex. [McBooks Press is now an imprint of Globe Pequot, the trade division of Roman & Littlefield.] I have worked in bookstores since 1978, starting…

This Friday, March 16, Routledge releases Understanding Teen Eating Disorders: Warning Signs, Treatment Options and Stories of Courage by three Central New York authors who bring years of experience and expertise in the eating disorder field to the subject. Eating disorders are relatively common among tweens and teens and the numbers have stayed roughly the same for several decades despite effective prevention and early intervention treatment methods. What does research tell us now that we didn’t know ten years ago? Understanding Teen Eating Disorders offers the latest research on the development, nature, and treatment of disordered eating of tweens and teens. This book will encourage and enrich the expertise of those seeking to support and/or treat tweens and teens with eating disorders. Cris E. Haltom is a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist who has treated eating disorders in her private practice in Ithaca, NY, for over 30 years. Cathie Simpson also lives and works in Ithaca, NY, where she is a psychotherapist and editor. Mary Tantillo is a fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders, Professor of Clinical Nursing at the University of Rochester School of Nursing, and Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Eating disorders are often enduring and difficult to treat, especially without early intervention. They are a public health concern, costly, and diminish one’s quality of life. What can be done and what works? Cris Haltom, Cathie Simpson, and Mary Tantillo bring their expertise and experience treating clients with eating…

Often when people plan to write a book, they dream their book will get published by one of the big publishers – Hatchette, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, or HarperCollins. My story is different and I’ve always been grateful to have gotten in on the ground floor with a small publisher. When my son was about 6 months old, I began working very part-time in a wonderful local Ithaca bookstore, McBooks. It was started by Alex Skutt (the store’s name was a nod to his political hero, George McGovern.) I brought my son to work during his nap times and he slept in a carrier under my desk in the back office where I did the bookkeeping. One day the bookstore owner mentioned he was going to venture into publishing, starting a company called McBooks Press. His first project was to publish a book of poetry written by his girlfriend. I somewhat jokingly asked him if he’d be willing to publish something that I wrote. “Well, it depends on what you write,” he replied, reasonably so. At that point, in 1978, I was a vegetarian. In those times, vegetarianism was considered a questionable nutritional choice for adults, and I could not find any information about feeding a vegetarian baby. And so at home, I was trying to figure out how to give my son a healthy diet now that he was ready to eat solid food. Then I realized I was already doing deeper research on a topic that…