Book Day in Postcards 4

I really like Book Days at the shop. You can hear the faint cry of, “Books, books, books” as I move through the store with my little red wagon overfilled with priced books ready to go on the shelves.

I’m no librarian. I wish I had been. But I’ve been reading all my life, and I am semi cognizant of the current literary trends. Not that I read them, I’m ashamed to say, as my brain fails when faced with horror. No Steven King for me. I note John Grisham is on top of the New York Times Best seller list. John Connelly is number two.

The changes in that best seller list amuse me. We still have hardbounds, but we don’t just have the standard paperbacks any more. Most newer paperback books that I see fall in the “trade” size. I am told the older size is being phased out. I keep hoping that the smaller sizes will keep coming in for a while longer as they are the books that fit on my circular rack.

We still have children’s books too, but I am ashamed to say that they don’t sell well. Except now. We have one lady who buys them all and donates them to Navy Relief. The rest of the year, they just sit there gathering dust until I mark them all down to fifty cents. That’s an awful thing to do to Huck Fin.

We also get Graphic Books…just a few. I find them interesting, but I confess that I’ve never read one. Few books on disc…but we get requests. What we do get in quantity are the self-help books and cookbooks. Self-help volumes have a tendency to thinness. These small books can all fit on one shelf. Not so the cookbooks. We have a huge number of cookbooks and more come in every day. Most sell quickly.

The ones that are selling from the New York Times best seller list are not the ones I sell. I cheer on every sale. As an out of control cookbook lover, you know I feature the new ones on a special rack. “Looky here. Here’s the newest,” the rack tells them. The little old ladies who sit on my metal chairs and read cook books, no longer cook. That’s what they tell me.

But they read. And too, they give books of all types as Christmas presents. I really appreciate every one of them. So today I will go fill up the shelves anew. Achoo…..while loving every moment. I don’t think any other volunteer is as lucky as I am.

• Himself: Really enjoying his work. Not just cars and trucks, but he’s had motorcycles and a garbage truck lately.
• Herself: Taking lots of pictures for the stores. Went in yesterday and tidied up the Christmas Books. The books were a mess.
• Reading: Lite. Little thinking required.
• Balance: Planning to have a great day playing with books.