Citizen Reader

Last Friday I took my own advice and made a pilgrimage to a local independent bookstore to buy some presents for my nieces and nephews.* This is a pilgrimage I make annually; usually MomCR (or should I call her GrandmaCR, as her affection for CRjr is unsurpassed?) goes with me, but this year was a real treat: we decided to take advantage of the balmy 30-degree weather, and we took CRjr and DadCR along as well. A great time was had by all, and many books were purchased.

What made me laugh was that MomCR said, "What do you think the bookstore guy will think of you coming in with a baby this year?" I laughed and told her that I was pretty sure the bookstore guy doesn't know or remember us, as we only go to his shop once a year.** So once in the store, she of course asked the guy, who of course, really didn't remember us. I had to explain to MomCR that the glory of booksellers is that most of them really aren't "people people." I don't think she agreed with me that that was glorious, but it's one of my favorite things about old-school booksellers. Sure they're aloof, but this also makes them low-pressure on the sales end. I'll take it.

So: back to the gift guide tomorrow. This was just a friendly reminder to support your local aloof booksellers.

*Really the only people I buy gifts for nowadays, just because it's so fun to buy kids' books.

**Athough we've been going for several years, and we drop a fair amount of coin (by our standards) there.