Growers and Grocers

Starbucks is blending the line between coffee shop and, well everything else, as they plan to add book sales to their repertoire this fall when Mitch Albom’s forthcoming new novel, One More Day, appears in the Frappachino making shops in early October.

Free Press columnist Mitch Albom says he is “very humbled and flattered” Starbucks chose his forthcoming novel, “For One More Day,” to launch its book program.

Starbucks announced in April that it was seeking movies and books to promote along with the music it sells in stores. On Monday, it selected “For One More Day,” Albom’s second novel, as the first title it will feature in its program. The novel, to be published by Hyperion on Sept. 26, will appear in Starbucks stores from the first week in October through the second week of November.

“It’s a small book,” Albom says. “They could hold it in one hand and a latte in the other.”

For the uninitiated, Starbucks already sells a variety of tea and coffee paraphernalia in addition to CDs and DVDs. In April, they announced that they would be expanding those offerings to include books and movies.

The big push with this though is that Starbucks is donating a dollar for every book sold to a charity that focuses on childhood literacy.

With the author’s permission, Starbucks will donate a dollar from every copy of the new book sold to Jumpstart, a national nonprofit early education organization that focuses on literacy and targets at-risk preschoolers entering kindergarten.

“Today’s announcement reflects our new and ongoing commitment to offering our customers the unique opportunity to discover books as part of their daily coffee routines,” said Ken Lombard, president of Starbucks Entertainment.

With a Starbucks already on every corner, it leaves one to wonder… what’s next? Photo processing?