I went to the bookstore last night. My kids had some time
before their big camp-out so we went to the huge mall Barnes & Nobles. I
almost never go to the mall with my kids by myself, but I thought the bookstore
would be okay. A safe place.
It’s been a while since I’ve been in a big bookstore like
that. I shop local and my indie isn’t that huge. If I want to make the longer
drive, I go to Anderson’s which is a pretty big and absolutely wonderful indie
bookstore.
But last night I went to the Barnes & Noble and as I
walked through the aisles, I grew increasingly sad. Not because the selection
wasn’t massive (it really is a HUGE selection of YA novels), but because for
all the excitement I felt seeing friends’ books on the shelves, I couldn’t help
but notice the books that weren’t there.
Yes, my book wasn’t there, which I always prepare myself for
so I don’t experience disappointment, but neither were:
CarrieDahliaAndrewTedNovaMollyKathleenKatieJoleneSharonBrandyCourtneyStephKateJustinaShannonAmyAllisonTrishEricaetc’s.
Do you see? You start making friends with writers. You start reaching out and
connecting and then when you go to the bookstore, you become a little sad.
I love my writing life. I love my friends. I love so much of
what publishing has brought me, but I miss the magic of going to a bookstore
and just discovering books. And not fretting over what is and isn’t being
shelved. This worry is an unexpected fallout of publishing. Sort of like when
you get on a church committee and realize it’s not all spiritual and wonderful,
now you see the politics behind things and there’s just no going back.
So instead, I didn’t buy any books for myself and walked
behind my children as they experienced the bookstore. And that was a little
wonderful too. Seeing them get excited about the latest Big Nate or the second
book in Erin Bowman’s Taken series or that there’s a guide to Plants vs.
Zombies (believe me, I rolled my eyes at the last one too and had to be very
Zen about reading is reading is reading).
I love the magic of new readers. I may never have my pre-publishing
bookstore gaze again, but at least I get to witness that in my kids still. And that's okay. It's enough.
2 comments:
Every time I go to the bookstore, I always check to see if they have your book. I've found it in a couple of B&N locations. Then I promptly rearranged shelves so it would be better featured.
My niece gets excited over the Minecraft guides. At least I think it's Minecraft. Mine-something, anyway.
Some bookstores and libraries have Story Hour; it's always sweet to see the children listening to the story, especially because they're less likely to keep checking their cell phones, like my older students do. I think kids have a different attitude towards reading partly because it's still new for them; they're still learning to read and are delighting in their new ability.
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