TC Bookstore Ordered To Stop Using "Book Of The Month"

Brilliant Books in Traverse City is turning to its customers and fans for a new name for its "Book of the Month Club" after owners Peter and Colleen Makin received a "cease and desist" notice from Bookspan, the owners of the term.

"We were stunned," says Peter Makin. "We had no idea this wasn't terminology in general usage," citing its frequent use by bookstores, libraries and reading groups around the country. "It seems as absurd as us trying to stop folks using the adjective 'brilliant' when describing literature."

Makin says the bookstore's service is the "polar opposite" of Bookspan's model, which sends subscribers books if they don't decline them in time.

Instead of readying to launch a new marketing campaign based on the success of its "Book of the Month Club" it is now scrambling to rename the subscriber service.

"We don't have the resources to even consider fighting this," says Makin. "We'll be changing the name with immediate effect."

Brilliant Books is taking suggestions for a new name and will let fans vote on the finalists in the coming weeks.