Always a Bookseller

It's only been thirteen days since I last set foot in Joseph-Beth Booksellers. I enjoyed my first week or so of unemployment: my apartment is clean, laundry caught up, and I grocery shopped for more than just one meal at a time. I revamped my portfolio, bought new dress shoes & snow boots, and followed up with businesses that were waiting for me to finish my commitment to JBB. Best of all, I found the motivation to bum around and just enjoy being out of the house and free of work-related stress.

When I'm braving the Cleveland winter weather, I've found myself drawn to bookstores. There is an extreme sense of comfort just opening the door and smelling those printed pages. JBB didn't receive shipments for seven weeks so I've been thumbing through new releases, all the while thinking, "So-and-so would have loved this." I've looked at displays that I would have loved to create, and instinctively straightened table stacks or repositioned a crooked book on a stand. I've overheard customers talking about how to spend their gift cards, and commiserated with other booksellers about the January quiet. Hours pass. Sometimes I walk out with a new book, or an old one I lost long ago. Other times I have a picture book for my Someday Box. But I always leave feeling calm, refocused, and comforted. And deciding which bookstore to hit up next.

My career at Joseph-Beth proved one thing: that I am meant to be in a bookstore. I am meant to create a literary environment for book lovers where the conversation, company, and experience is undeniably intoxicating. I am meant to merchandise, handsell, and talk to the community about literature in all of its varied forms. I want to spend forty hours a week on the bookfloor; I want to meet new authors, read new books, and learn about ereaders. I want to stay in Cleveland - we're the 14th most literate city in the country! There is opportunity here!

I've gone through a few interviews & am optimistic that something will come through shortly. I can't wait to get back in a bookstore as a full-fledged bookseller. It's already been thirteen days too long...

My last JBB purchases

The saying "less is more" became extremely relevant over the last six weeks of Joseph-Beth Cleveland's history. As my store emptied out, I discovered books that had been lost to the spine-out life, ones that were shelved in the wrong sections, and many that were at the bottom of the bargain bins our liquidators brought in. Every time the discount dropped or we moved a section, I'd find something new. I'm not someone who can easily pass up a book, let alone a book on sale. Here's a rundown of the books I kept for my own collection - I gave away more as holiday gifts...

*Tom Peters Essentials: Leadership -- The Essentials series is adapted from Re-imagine!, which I already own along with Trends. Published by DK, the books are a visual guide to reinventing & reinvigorating your business. (Note: I believe the series is out of print)

*Death by PowerPoint by Michael Flocker -- As my job search continues, I'm finding there are more opportunities in office settings than anything else. This little gem is a tongue-in-cheek guide to surviving the corporate world, a place I may find myself very shortly.

*The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau -- Being an indie bookseller taught me to embrace possibility, trust myself, and do what I knew needed to be done. Being an individual, and succeeding at it, is possible and I see this book as continued reinforcement of that message.

*Queer by William S. Burroughs -- Each year I adopt a new genre of books; this year, I'm adopting The Beats. I've only read On the Road and Howl, so something by Burroughs was necessary. I also love the Penguin 25th anniversary cover.

*Teach Yourself WordPress in 10 Minutes -- I met a blogger a few months ago who raved about WordPress. I am tirelessly working on a freelance editing business and decided to take a look at WordPress. Finding that I can import this Blogger into WordPress was another perk to the program.

*Over Tumbled Graves by Jess Walter -- The Financial Lives of the Poets was one of my favorite handsells, and I adored The Zero. This was just next on the list & the only copy I had yet to put into someone's hands.

*Plan B by Jonathan Tropper -- The only Tropper novel I have not read, even though it was his first novel. I turned one of my toughest customers onto Tropper and she told me to snag Plan B before it was gone.

*One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde -- Obviously, I didn't purchase this but it was the last galley I received. (Thanks to Mary Ann at Penguin!) I think I will marathon re-read the series. Eyre Affair is another handsell favorite.

*Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness -- Kate from HarperCollins raved about The Knife of Never Letting Go during her last sales call. I snagged the first two books when they came in on bargain & we had one copy of Monsters left when the store went to 80%. Of course, the next day, we got a box of kids galleys & guess what was inside?

*Outlaw Bible of American Essays edited by Alan Kaufman -- Has submissions from the Beat Generation, but it also ties back into that indie spirit of nonconformity.

*The Book of Martyrdom & Artifice by Allen Ginsberg -- A collection of his first journals & poems, along with unpublished & rare material. I've always been curious about an author's beginnings; this book feeds that curiosity & my genre challenge.

*Jack of Fables Vol 5 & 6 -- I've read the Fables series for years but never delved into the spinoff. A local Half-Price Books usually has the first books in the set so now I have a good excuse to buy them.

*Illuminated Poems by Allen Ginsberg -- Beautifully illustrated by Eric Drooker & includes two never-before-released poems, an intro by Ginsberg, and the entirety of Howl. Fell in love with it as soon as I took it out of the box - just beautiful.

*Creative Girl by Katharine Sise -- The cover says the book will help "[turn] talent & creativity into a real career." With advice from resumes, to the interview, to salary negotiation, to marketing, this book is exactly what I need.

*Lovemarks by Kevin Roberts -- Visually appealing like Tom Peters's titles and explores the process of getting customers to fall in love with your brand.

*Change the Way You See Yourself by Kathryn D. Cramer -- We got a ton of the teen version of this title so when I saw the adult trade version, I snagged it. This time of my life is all about the opportunity to reinvent myself, my career, and my future. A lot of the books I purchased over the last six weeks will keep me on that track.

*Sweet Charlotte's Seventh Mistake by Cori Crooks -- The book I judged by its pages. To be honest, I have no idea what it's about but the scrapbook format was enough to make me take it home.

*Bent Objects by Terry Border -- I have a 16x20 print of the Gulliver's Travels photo with the mini books triumphing over a Kindle. I'm hoping to tear the book apart & frame a lot of these in my office.

*The Beats by Mike Evans -- the coffeetable book that inspired my adopted genre for 2011. The book also delves into the music, media, and politics that shaped the authors. I initially passed on it, even though I loved the layout. It took an hour of hunting through those ubiquitous bargain bins one early morning before I found our last copy.