Marilyn Thiele
It’s a beautiful sunny spring day, and, as seems to happen whenever there is a day like this, I won’t be able to get out to my garden. Too much going on!
Most important, it’s Independent Bookstore Day. Last year, there was a California Independent Bookstore Day. The success of that endeavor led the organizers to go nationwide this year, and independent bookstores everywhere are having special events and sales to celebrate. If you haven’t been out to your “local” yet, please get there and join the fun.
We’re doing special pricing and food, to say Thank You to the loyal customers who keep us going all year long. There is another town-wide event in progress, and Free Comic Book day at the local comic book store, so there are many reasons for shoppers to come to town.
Yesterday was the first day of the local Friends of the Library book sale. This annual event features over 100,000 books donated by local residents. Sometimes I feel that just as many are brought to my shop in a year to be perused as potential additions to my collection, but I’m sure it’s not quite that amount. What it tells me is that we have a community of readers and that I’m lucky to live and have my business here.
I am in the midst of a major reorganization at the shop, and donated over 800 books to this sale. I promised myself I would exercise restraint, only purchasing what I really need. For example, my section of Civil War books is completely depleted. But putting a biblioholic at a used book sale is like putting an alcoholic in a bar; “just one more.” I justified it to myself by thinking that I was purchasing for my shop, not indulging my cravings. Ah well; the damage was almost 500 books, so at least there is a net positive toward the cleanup effort. And several are going into my personal stash. Now comes all the pricing and shelving!
In the midst of writing this post between customers, I learned that Ruth Rendell, one of my favorite authors has died. It didn’t come as a shock, as she had had a stroke in January and was among our more senior crime fiction authors. Still, I can’t help thinking that it seems so many great mystery writers have passed in the last year or two. I haven’t quite reached the age where all my friends are dying, but it seems I’m at least at the point where all the authors who enthralled me in my early days of reading are going. Thank goodness for all the wonderful younger writers who carry on the tradition. At least there will be one more Ruth Rendell book in October, and there are more than enough books in my to-be-read pile. I will miss her unique style of psychological suspense.
Enjoy the fact that Spring seems finally to have arrived, but do spend a little time at that special independent book shop in your neighborhood. There are more of us this year than last year, but we still need your support – and appreciate it greatly!
Recent Comments