Independence Day

Ten years ago, when I opened The Open Book, the American Booksellers Association was in the process of launching its Booksense program. This program was developed to give independent booksellers buying power, lobbying power and a presence in a world where chain bookstores seemed to be taking over. This year, the ABA announced the creation of "Indie Bound", a new program designed to promote independent businesses of all kinds, with a focus on your local independent bookstore, of course.

In educating myself about this new program, I began to think about what it means to own an independent bookstore. Several years ago I wrote an essay on this subject for a regional booksellers association conference. I thought I might include a bit of the essay in this blog.

An independent bookseller at her best is a little beam of humanity in a crazy boxstore world. I will remember that your grandchild reads well above his level, that you cannot read the tiny print on mass market books anymore, that you love a cozy mystery, that you only read “good” books, that you are sad, tired, over-worked, in love or in need of a hearty belly laugh.

An independent bookseller knows that she will probably never make the Fortune 500, but she also knows that wealth takes many forms. As an independent bookseller, I am rich in friends, “adopted” children, and, of course, books. I am rich in life altering encounters with people who have brought me laughter and offered me wisdom and trusted me with their stories.

An independent bookseller is important in a world where forms must be filled out and customers are assigned a number. An independent bookseller is likely to write an order on the back of a lunch bag or drop a book off at the customer’s house on the way home from work. Acknowledging the individuality and humanity of our customers, we fight against the grey automation of the retail world. When you come into an independent bookstore, you come into a world that reflects the personality, beliefs, and aesthetics of one or two people, not a faceless corporation.

At the end of a long day, I am so proud to be an independent bookseller. I feel that my work makes the world a better place, if only in an small way. I feel that I give value for the money spent in my store. I feel that people are better for spending their time in my store. I feel that the work I do is important. Finally, every day I am reminded that I am one of the luckiest people I know because I am able to do work I truly love.

So, even though it is a little early, happy Independence Day. And I hope you remember to patronize your local independent businesses this summer. Now go read a good book!

Here's To All The Dads!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. I know that my dad is reading this from the other side of the country, and while I am grateful that this computer makes communication easier, I certainly wish I was not so far away.

Have you ever noticed how "bad dads" abound in literature? Read anything by Pat Conroy or Augusten Burroughs and you will be grateful that you were not part of their families. But where are the "good dads"? Well I have found a few in fiction and non-fiction and in honor of Father's Day, here is a list of recommended books with kind, caring, loving and sometimes, funny, fathers.

Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth. I admit that the father in this is a little bombastic but he has a good heart, is hilariously clueless and loves his many children.

Plainsong by Kent Haruf. The McPheron brothers fall into the role of father to an unwed teen mother and Tom struggles to care for his two young boys after their mother leaves them.

Dirty Job by Christopher Moore. This one is pretty quirky. But despite his over involvement with death, Charlie is a loving and protective father to his daughter, Sophie.

Daddy Needs A Drink by Robert Wilder. This is a funny group of essays by a high school teacher learning the perils of being "Mr. Mom".

The Way Home by Henry Dunow. I am not very interested in baseball but this story of a man coaching his son's little league team was a touching look at the evolving relationship between a father and a son.

One father that I have great admiration for is Randy Pausch. Though dying of pancreatic cancer, he has made an effort to leave a legacy of wisdom for his children. If you have not seen the film about his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University, I have included a link to it. There is also a book called The Last Lecture which expands on the video. Dr. Pausch has an fresh way of looking at the world and appears to savor the life he has yet to live without seeking self-pity or being maudlin.

So, on Father's Day, if you are lucky enough to have your father around, give him a hug, or a call, or a cookie or a really expensive sports car, if you have the pocket change. And then, go read.....

We're Having A Heat Wave

It is HOT here in Long Island. The summer came flying in over the weekend with high heat, higher humidity and thunderstorms that brought trees down and left us without power. Last night I sat on my couch which was all wet from the rain (forgot to close the windows) and read the latest Lee Child with a flashlight and candles for light.

Jack Reacher is such a great character. I have run into very few people who do not like the Lee Child books. There are lots of reviews out there that try to explain why an ex-army drifter who travels around carrying only a toothbrush, an expired driver's license and an ATM card is so popular with both men and women readers. All I know is that I would be happy to read the whole book with a flashlight tucked under my chin.

So, now that the power is back on. I am going to go sit in front of the air conditioner and savor the last twenty pages.

A Little Bit of Magic

For someone who is supposed to be a grown-up, I love Harry Potter way too much. I revel in a world where people can fly on brooms and turn chocolate into toads and hatch baby dragons. In a pathetic attempt to justify my love of all magical fiction, I am giving you a list of "adult" (read, serious and legitimate) fiction that has either a little bit or a lot of magic between the pages.

I just finished Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. I fell for the characters in this book in a second. But I really want an apple tree in my backyard that throws apples at people to get attention. I cannot wait to read her new book, The Sugar Queen.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez also has a tree, but this tree sees much sorrow in the many years it gives it shade to the Buendia family. This family story is full of premonitions and mysteries, and is told in a way that leaves you wondering what is imagined and what is real.

One of my favorite books is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. The love story of Henry and Clare is challenged by Henry's disturbing condition that occasionally sends him forward or backward in time. Once you have made the leap of imagination, the journey that this special couple takes will stay with you for a very long time.

Elizabeth Kostova spent many years researching and writing her novel, The Historian. Vampires, history and international setting combine in a haunting tale of the quest to find Vlad the Impaler.

A few summers ago, Alice Hoffman came to The Open Book when she was visiting friends in the area. I am afraid that the bookstore employees (and the owner) behaved like the rabid fans that we are and terrified the poor woman. Ms. Hoffman graciously signed books and left, looking relieved to get away. All of Alice Hoffman's books have a bit of magic, and one of my favorites is The Ice Queen. Ice, fire and water as metaphors, fairy tale references and love and passion are combined in a dark, beautiful story.

So, it is summer and what better time to indulge in the desire to experience worlds where things are a little out of the ordinary? If you want the ultimate fantasy experience, I highly recommend that you read all seven volumes of Harry Potter while eating Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and drinking butterbeer!