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Independent Bookstore Day 2024

Clearly, Kelly and I can’t get enough books, so it’s rather appropriate that today is Independent Bookstore Day.

Treasure

There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island. ~Walt Disney

We’re going to another book sale tomorrow. Why? Because it’s been weeks of working hard and not going anywhere.

We’re due for some fun and book shopping is fun. Doesn’t particularly matter that we don’t have a red cent to spare.

Will we come away with a ton of books like we usually do? Probably not. That’s not the point.

Kelly and I enjoy being together. We enjoy shopping for books. We enjoy shopping for books together.

It’s time to get out and have a bit of fun. Nothing more to it than that.

Thursday will be our 32nd Anniversary. We’ll probably go out and have some fun then, too.

Independence

The Value of Local Independent Bookstores

Big chains come and go. Waldenbooks, B. Dalton, Borders, Barnes & Noble all have their place and their style. Kelly and I have spent our fair share of time in each.

Independent bookstores are another matter entirely. While the chain stores have a consistent presentation and vibe, mom & pop outfits all have their own style.

Some are like dark lairs of a mad book hoarder. Some are airy and almost corporate. Some bring the proprietor’s personal style into the mix. No two are the same.

What they have in common is that they represent a love of books and reading and community. They add that personal touch to the mere selling and buying of books.

Like the books they sell, they all have character.

Imagination

Imagination, it turns out, is a great deal like reporting in your own head. Here is a paradox of fiction-writing. You are crafting something from nothing, which means, in one sense, that none of it is true. Yet in the writing, and perhaps in the reading, some of a character’s actions or lines are truer than others. ~Amy Waldman

Imagination fails me today. All I’ve got is a ripping headache, a tremendous pain in the neck and an overwhelming desire to simply go back to bed. So, that’s that.

I’ve been stealing precious seconds of unoccupied time to think of what to write next, but there is only duty, exhaustion and pain in my head lately.

I feel compelled to get things done so they can be done. That way, I’ll have some mental peace to let my imagination flow.

But they don’t get done. The dike has more holes than I have fingers to plug. Tasks come like a firehose and there’s more to do than time to do it.

This leaves me no time or energy to be creative, only annoyed.

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Been a long week. I’m still recovering. Hope your weekend is going better.