Books. Boooooks.
Feb. 16th, 2004 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brightbluegirlThe other night we decided to go for a walk. It had been beautiful for several days, absolutely gorgeous spring days, if cooler nights, and frosty mornings. So we walked down to the library and got some new books, and then walked to the used book store to see what they had. I managed to pick up some old books I've been wanting to add to my collection - each the first of a series, which is even better.
They had the second in one of those series, except the front cover was ripped off. $1 or no, I want my books to have covers, so I passed.
I love bookstores. Particularly used bookstores. They have that musty book smell. Not this one, though. This one had moldy book smell.
I do love places that have books to the ceiling, and rows on rows of books everywhere. Which this place had, but... well... it could have been organized better. I feel like a bit of a goon for saying so, but I have no doubt he could get more money out of that store if he just tidied it up a little, and gave people more room to walk around the store in. I was squeezing through child-sized spaces, and moving videos to see books, and etc. I figure it's a 1 week job (maybe) to clean the space up once, then a minimum of upkeep afterwards.
Ah, used books. Maybe our cafe will have used books for sale. A great little cafe in the town I went to University did that. They had a small menu, 1000 types of tea, and amazing desserts. The owners lived above the cafe, and it was in a big old house. She was always playing jazz or blues or something else with emotion, and the walls that weren't full of books had Schiele and Klimt prints proudly displayed.
I loved it there. Even after I moved to Toronto, over an hour away from Waterloo, I'd come back and spend hours with friends there. It wasn't doing so well, and we always made a point of buying lots of books and giving big tips when we went, but I don't know if they're still there.
It's a little harder to drop by, now that I'm all the way across the country.
For a while, when I was a teenager, my parents were talking about opening a bookstore in the building they owned downtown. The building was set up as a 3 store-front thing, with my dad's karate school in one. They wanted to open a bookstore in another of the sections. A bookstore that just sold Science Fiction and Mysteries. They were going to call it "A Novel Idea". I loved everything about it. They said I could work there as much as I wanted, and order the books, and everything.
I wanted that SO MUCH. I even designed a storefront.
That was before I'd figured out my parents are often all talk and no action.
I've always been a book geek.
I wanted to work at the public library, when I was growing up, but they wouldn't even let us volunteer if we hadn't worked at a library (school or otherwise) for several years before hand. Or at least, that's what they told me. I would have gladly been a page, or some other unromantic job, just so I could say I was working at the library.
They had the second in one of those series, except the front cover was ripped off. $1 or no, I want my books to have covers, so I passed.
I love bookstores. Particularly used bookstores. They have that musty book smell. Not this one, though. This one had moldy book smell.
I do love places that have books to the ceiling, and rows on rows of books everywhere. Which this place had, but... well... it could have been organized better. I feel like a bit of a goon for saying so, but I have no doubt he could get more money out of that store if he just tidied it up a little, and gave people more room to walk around the store in. I was squeezing through child-sized spaces, and moving videos to see books, and etc. I figure it's a 1 week job (maybe) to clean the space up once, then a minimum of upkeep afterwards.
Ah, used books. Maybe our cafe will have used books for sale. A great little cafe in the town I went to University did that. They had a small menu, 1000 types of tea, and amazing desserts. The owners lived above the cafe, and it was in a big old house. She was always playing jazz or blues or something else with emotion, and the walls that weren't full of books had Schiele and Klimt prints proudly displayed.
I loved it there. Even after I moved to Toronto, over an hour away from Waterloo, I'd come back and spend hours with friends there. It wasn't doing so well, and we always made a point of buying lots of books and giving big tips when we went, but I don't know if they're still there.
It's a little harder to drop by, now that I'm all the way across the country.
For a while, when I was a teenager, my parents were talking about opening a bookstore in the building they owned downtown. The building was set up as a 3 store-front thing, with my dad's karate school in one. They wanted to open a bookstore in another of the sections. A bookstore that just sold Science Fiction and Mysteries. They were going to call it "A Novel Idea". I loved everything about it. They said I could work there as much as I wanted, and order the books, and everything.
I wanted that SO MUCH. I even designed a storefront.
That was before I'd figured out my parents are often all talk and no action.
I've always been a book geek.
I wanted to work at the public library, when I was growing up, but they wouldn't even let us volunteer if we hadn't worked at a library (school or otherwise) for several years before hand. Or at least, that's what they told me. I would have gladly been a page, or some other unromantic job, just so I could say I was working at the library.
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no subject
Date: 2004-02-16 11:55 am (UTC)Not related, but did you ever join gymrats? I'm noting my progress and whatnot over there as there are folks who read my journal that I'd rather not have to explain my weight loss goals to.
Re:
Date: 2004-02-16 01:46 pm (UTC)That cafe sounds awesome, we'll definitely check it out. We'd still like to go, and we're thinking maybe Easter, unless your mom gets all booked up. Right now I'm not making any plans until I know what's up with my taxes.
Re:
Date: 2004-02-16 01:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-02-16 11:56 am (UTC)you look lovely in the pictures. but they really remind me of how long it's been since we've spent much time together... sniff.
Working at a library
Date: 2004-02-17 09:19 am (UTC)Shelf reading consisted of making sure all books were in the proper order, by author (then title) or by dewey number. It had all the tediousness and repetitiveness of physical labour without the mental relief. If your mind wandered too much you might mess up the ordering.
Once or twice a year we would inventory books to determine which ones had been lost or stolen. This was similar to shelf reading except that the computer which we used to scan the barcodes assumed most of the mental duties, telling you which books were out of order in the case of the non-fiction books. Inventory had all the glamour of grocery checkout minus the ability to meet new people.
Re: Working at a library
Date: 2004-02-17 12:13 pm (UTC)At least I've had the opportunity to work in a comic book store... and actually, even with the owner being an ass, it was pretty much everything I'd hoped, and more.