The sun is shining now, but all day long it’s been dark and dreary with intermittent rain, a combination that coupled with a sales slump and a not-so-great estate sale this morning has brought my blue, blue Irish mood drifting to the surface. I know the cure for it – I even applied it – but though I am maybe a smidgen more cheerful than I was earlier, I’m not exactly Mary Sunshine. Trust me – you would NOT want to be here.
It all began with the estate sale, as I had been very happy last night to have had dinner with my librarian friend Liz whom I haven’t seen for longer than both of us could explain. We caught up, laughed a lot, dissected the world’s problems, talked books, and laughed some more. We have this bizarre custom that Liz started, but I love renewing every now and again because I’m a pushover for the power of ritual. We go to the restaurant in the grocery store and order – get ready for this – sushi and hot fudge sundaes. It never fails to elicit a reaction from the server which is part of the kick. Last night they were out of sushi though (it’s good – they buy it from an Asian woman who supplies it fresh daily), so we had to settle for salads, but that was okay. Liz and I aren’t just about sushi.
Anyway, today’s estate sale promised lots of books and delivered them in good quantity. But as has been the case lately, the quality left something to be desired. I bought three retro cookbooks that should sell on one of my many venues and a colorful(maybe a little gaudy, but not too much)straw purse because vintage purses always whisper my name, but overall it was one more reminder of what a tough summer it’s been for book acquisition. I wandered around for awhile looking at the vast array of stuff -- the owner clearly loved cooking, Christmas, and crafts -- when suddenly it struck me that a woman’s LIFE was spread out throughout her house. All the holidays, the accoutrements of family meals, the pretty golden demitasse set she likely treasured -- all of it had been slapped with a price tag. My entire being plummeted like the Dow Jones in September, 2008.
When I got home I wrapped my few orders and checked email, only to find just one new sale in the box. You’d think for a woman who’s ridden the wild wave of bookselling for over 13 years I would get a grip, but no. Immediately I began enumerating all the likely reasons for the slow-down – ebooks, electronic readers, I’ve lost my touch, the economy, I’ve lost my touch, we can’t find any good stock right now, I’ve lost my touch, Labor Day weekend, I’ve lost my touch …..
Invariably this leads (and led) to a thing I do that psychologists actually have a name for, but I’m damned if I can remember what it is. It sounds like prevaricate, but it’s not because to prevaricate is to mislead, a kind of lie. But then again, maybe in it’s way all this kvetching and moaning IS a sort of lie. In the big picture I truly have nothing to complain about, so all this angst is not a reflection of the truth. But does that stop me from doing the THING? No, it does not. I leap boldly into the dark place only the most neurotic booksellers dare to go and start bemoaning my future fate. If it’s bad today it will be as bad tomorrow, or possibly even worse. It’s over! I’ll be out of business! Then what? THEN WHAT???????????????
In the end I pulled myself together and did the right thing – I listed books. As I’ve told you before on another funky day earlier this summer, the thing to remember during a slump is to LIST, even though it’s the exact thing you do not want to do if you aren’t in love with the books you have available. Invariably, you find a recipe in one that you used to make for your husband’s birthday (the Redbook spice cake), or the nondescript little book you keep ignoring is drop-dead fabulous inside. Whatever it is, all of a sudden you’re hooked on books again, as surely as if you were attached to fishing line.
Does it mean you’re cured of the blues? Nope. But I have one more idea for that. Write about them in your blog and see just how ridiculous it looks on the screen for all the world to see. And then you will stop for the day, pour a nice glass of wine, and read for awhile before dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment