July 2, 2005

Booknews

Interesting things I observed during my eight hours as a bookseller today: everyone secretly wanted to buy Monica Lewinsky’s biography but no one would admit it, the first books sold were all my Beatles stuff left over from my adoloscent obsession, at every lawn sale someone comes along and asks to buy the furniture the stuff is sat upon, everyone loves Ramona Quimby, if you tell certain people that certain books are “Women’s Studies Books” they will buy them without question, the woman who sang me songs from her native healing circle for no particular reason, a lot of people want to buy your vinyl, people really like Russian history and no one wants my 17th century lit anthology (including myself), there is a woman who spends every Saturday cruising yard sales to find books by Belva Plain, the old lady who wanted to know if we had Stephen King, no one wants Life’s Little Instruction Book. The unsold books I took back for myself were The Summer Book by Tove Jansen, Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing by May Sarton, Nightwood by Djuna Barnes and Stuart took Brave New World because he hasn’t read it. In other book news, I bought a magazine called Geist today. In my new poor student incarnation, I am allowed only one magazine a month IF it is under $5.00. I also received George and Rue by George Elliott Clarke from my parents.