Book Expo America

This week marked the annual convention of booksellers, publisher and authors held nowadays in New York City.  In years past, the convention moved around among such cities as Chicago, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.  Those were the days!   I have nothing against the Big Apple except the huge number of cabs transporting single individuals up and down the island.  Crazy.  But it's an exciting city, no question.  And since most publishers are located there, it makes sense.

You might guess that the hot topic was ebooks and the devices on which to read them.  How we bricks and mortar stores will become purveyors of same was much discussed.  Fair pricing of ebooks began and ended conversations.  Big changes are afoot, all agreed.  And yet,  a workshop on book buying habits in the US revealed interesting statistics.  Though the media, overall, would have us think "the book is dead", probably by next week,  stats show 98% of all books sold are still physical books.   To be in a busy, independent bookstore is to know there are bunches of folks who want a place to see books, talk about books with knowledgeable people, browse at length,  discover new authors to try or new subjects to learn about.  I'm no ostrich, but I do think the media has the sky falling prematurely on this one.

 A highlight of BEA for me is always seeing and hearing authors.  We do have a fantastic line up of author events at our store at all times.   It's the groupings that are unique to the convention.  A breakfast on Thurs. was emceed by Jon Stewart and included Condoleeza Rice,  John Grisham and Mary Roach.  All have new books out  now or coming out by Fall.   All were fascinating to hear.   All were funny in one way or another.  Funniest of all was Jon Stewart looking quietly at Dr. Rice after her very articulate and charming talk and saying,  "Don't...make...me...like...you."   The audience erupted in laughter as did Dr. Rice.

Good times in the land of books.

Do You Want Your Booksellers Reading at the Register?

Is it a requirement that booksellers wear glasses? Kind of. Is it a requirement that boys that work at Trader Joe's wear carabiners with keys on them? Most assuredly. There are some stereotypes that are offensively true. The point I'd like to raise is one of great contention, and the mere fact that I hesitated to even bring it up is proof of its divisiveness... reading, while working at the cash register. Is it okay? Why or why not...

When you walk into a bookstore, you expect the booksellers to be, well,...hyper literate. This quality takes a good deal of time to develop. If you are working at the register, and there aren't many customers around, and everything had been straightened and stocked...is it ok to read? Would you be put off if you saw an employee reading on the job? Or would you see it as on the job training/ or product placement?

I personally have mixed feelings on the issue. If I saw someone reading at a coffee shop, and they didn't look up to acknowledge my presence as a paying customer, I would be miffed. I would feel neglected...but I would also be curious as to what the are reading. Now let's say we have the same scenario, but this time we are in a bookstore...if the reader/employee in question looked up and acknowledged me as a customer, I would be fine with them reading at the register. I would think to myself, what a wonderful job they have! I wonder what they are reading? As surely it must be good, I mean they work here and have the pick of the litter! They practice what they preach!

I am honestly curious as to what you think as a customer, is it beneficial to have booksellers reading on the job? (while at the register)

dozing off...

If you want me to keep turning pages in the Spring and Summer, make the land a character in your novel. I just finished Tinkers; I'm reading The Wind in the Willows for the first time. Urban novels are not for the heat. I want to read under a tree, high grass waving around my head, insects buzzing in my ears, ants on my forearm, the imprint of clover crushed by my cheek as I inevitably doze off, reading the same paragraph three, four, five times over until it slips me into a dream of maybe my own Mole End, where the shelves are dusty but my friend is industrious with the feather duster, and there are little ones running about eager to run errands to the store for a pound of this and a bottle or three of that. I want the smell of earth and the tickle of grass, and the history of the hills and valleys in your story. This urban life is a construct, a dangerous one, and I for one don't want to forget how close we all are to the land out there, the land that we have boarded up, paved over, and tamped down to build our human dreams upon. If you want my attention these days, your story will have grass stains and muddy feet.

Notes from the future.

Recently, thousands of graduates and their families flocked the city like swallows through San Juan Capistrano, and it got me thinking of my own graduation, two years gone, and what exactly it means to have a piece of paper on the wall (other than the fact that it makes my room feel more like a dentist's office).

Throughout school, I remember there was this often-unspoken pressure, this constant feeling that life was like a tower of blocks: each year built on the last in a straight line, and if I screwed up once (and who under such pressure wouldn't?) the whole thing would come crashing down. You're told you have to do well in classes so you'll get into the honors' classes. Then you have to do well in them to get a high GPA. Then you have to study and do well on the SAT's, the ACT's, to get into a good college, where you must do well to get a good job.

And mind you, not just any degree. You must study business or science or math or computers to get a good job. But, if you choose to study literature, well plenty of literature students go on to be lawyers, the college career center likes to remind us. And if you study writing, well, there's always journalism or business writing to be done. Communication skills are very important, after all, in the business world.

Recently I spoke with one of my former professors, and he told me that college freshmen were coming up to him, demanding information about what types of jobs they could get in this type of economy. And my professor had no idea what to say to them.

So I will say this: knowledge is not measured by sheets of paper. And life is not a tower but a random sequence, a pile that by sheer chance builds to a height but that has no simple sense of order. But that's okay. As a pile, it's more stable, and it cannot be knocked down, only rearranged.

If any recent graduates, or parents of recent graduates are reading this right now, I have some small pieces of advice, from two years down the road:

1. Expect life to be hard, at least for a while. Expect to have no money and no sense of direction.

2. Value your education not for the doors it opens in the world but for the experience and effort that went into it.

3. Find something that interests you and go after it passionately. I don't say follow your heart or dreams, because hearts and dreams change. Drive towards your interests until they no longer interest you, or until you realize that they will never lose your interest, at which point you've found a calling.

4. Relax. It works out, eventually. Just not ever in the ways you plan.

Podcast Dorkitude

I had a crisis the other day. As I was loading my new iPod, I realized that the majority of what I load onto Walter (named after the main character in Jonathan Franzen's soon-to-be-released epic, Freedom) isn't awesome music, but podcasts. Specifically, BBC and NPR podcasts. Here it is, folks -- your first-ever glimpse into the iPod of the Brookline Booksmith's events director. It ain't pretty.

Thinking Aloud
The BBC's weekly nerd fest, where a bunch of dorks talk about intellectual pursuits of a sociological nature.

RadioLab
WNYC's not as regular as I'd like it to be science podcast that frequently reduced goobers like me to tears. Check out the one on the chimp that was raised as a girl if you want to feel my pain.

Sound Opinions
WBEZ Chicago's weekly music show. It bills itself as "the world's only rock-n-roll talk show," but most of their stuff isn't exactly rockin' because it's for NPR dorks like myself. Be sure to listen to the end, where people with Chicago accents stronger than mine lament about host Jim DeRogatis's fixation on Brian Eno.

I Love Movies
This one is slightly less nerdy because the host, Doug Benson, is well-known for a movie he made about smoking pot. It's still pretty nerdy, unfortunately, because it relies on OCD-like knowledge of movie arcana.

The Savage Lovecast
Finally, something not humiliatingly nerdy! It's about s-e-x! A weekly dose of love advice from Dan Savage, my favorite pundit.


There you have it, folks! Now excuse me while I put my headphones in while avoiding eye contact.

Kersplash!

Is your budget so tight that finding a penny in the crack of the sidewalk is the highlight of your day? I know the feeling. But don’t let that let you go without reading anything all summer.

We have great bargain tables in our store that allow you to save around 70% on all types of titles: cookbooks, biographies, art collections, novels, a wide array of children’s books, and more. What a deal, eh? It’s better than Amazon.com! What I love about these tables is that they’re not sale carts filled with strange books we just can’t get rid of. Our bargain tables contain towering stacks of great reads, newish titles, classics, and old favorites. Occasionally, we even get bargain books that are out of print. I was ecstatic when we got in The Amazing Adventures of Bathman by Andrew Pelletier this past week. (It was a sad day when I learned that it was out of print.)

The Amazing Adventures of Bathman is great for the admiring-superhero-boy! Trust me, good boy books – while they DO exist – are harder to come by.

There’s only one boy who can take on this tub full of trouble, where a kidnapping has taken place. “Bathman is on the job!” And, the comic book style layout only adds to the fun.

So, come on, kersplash into summer reading with us. When these bargain titles are gone, they’re gone! (Same goes with our used book $1 cart right outside the store.)

In the words of Bathman, “’See you next time gang! [and] Keep your noses clean!’”

Celebration of Life

My daughter, until one week ago, worked in the social work department for oncology at Beth Israel Hospital.  Each year there is an incredible day long event put on by the department for cancer survivors and their families.   It includes a breakfast, workshops of all kinds and a beautiful lunch under a big tent.  Hundreds of patients and families, doctors, nurses, social workers and other support staff attend.   This is truly an awe-inspiring occasion.  And it's a very emotional one with plenty of joy to it and many tears, as well. The passion and compassion of the hospital folks is amazing.   Patients and families inspire huge admiration for their courage and stamina.  The entire day is infused with triumph and hope.

I attended my third Celebration yesterday with my daughter.  We registered and checked out the raffle and silent auction items.  Booksmith donates a big basket of books and other goodies.  I noticed another basket of books,  donated by a group of nurses.  In the complimentary tote bag given to each attendee were books - one a photo essay of breast cancer patients, a pamphlet of writings of patients, families and docs/nurses, a notepad and pen, and a booklet listing the days events.   The written word in one form or another is a balm.  And it connects us, one to the other.

The luncheon includes a keynote speaker, this year a fine, bestselling author who is now a cancer survivor.  His talk was all one could wish - earnest, funny, engaging,  inspiring.  But the most incredible part, for me, is the panel of five or so patients who speak of their experience.  Some are survivors of some years, some are in second or third battles with the disease.  They are young and not so young.  They are multi-ethnic men and women.  They are not polished speakers.  But their stories are riveting.

There is much applause and cheering for them.

It was a Celebration of Life, indeed, made up of stories, shared orally or in writing.  Traveling the few miles from the bookstore where I work surrounded by stories to this event so rich in stories, I realize yet again the proximity and importance of stories in all our lives all the time.  Where would we all be without them?   

So I realize I've used the words stories and inspiring many times in this post.  I could try to mix it up with other versions of those words, but really, they are the best words for this story.