It’s over, the store is gone.  More than ten years of my life were dedicated to our bookstore and I loved everything about it, except for the part about not being able to pay the bills once the recession hit.  We actually opened May 20, 2000 and for all these years, I can honestly say I was never reluctant to go in, something I couldn’t say about the corporate job I used to have all those years ago.

What will I miss the most?  The customers, without a doubt, and anyone who loves retail will know what I mean.  Even the irritating customers were fun after the fact and there were very few over the years who actually made me angry, usually the ones who picked our brains for book suggestions and then went elsewhere to buy or to the library.  Don’t get me wrong—I admire libraries and I understand that there might be valid reasons to buy elsewhere but…I kept my cool, though, and never said what I wanted to say, that they should be doing their “research” wherever they intended to get the book.  I still wonder, though, at the audacity of those people who would tell us they always buy from Amazon because it was more convenient or cheaper or Amazon could get the book to them one day faster than we could.  That’s all well and good but then why take up our time discussing what they should try next?

Speaking of book discussions, nothing beats the excitement of talking back and forth and suggesting just the right book the customer should try next.  I’ll really miss that, especially with the younger crowd.  I remember so well a particular teen who had little interest in anything and whose mom brought her into the store almost in desperation.  With just a few questions to figure out what she might like, I picked out a book for her and crossed my fingers.  She got completely hooked on the series and then moved on to others and she will always be one of my success stories.  What a high she gave me!

So now, it’s on to a different sort of world but one still heavily involved with books.  What can I say?  Books are part of me, in my blood, and I can’t let go ; )