A day at the fair
Oh my stars, I just fell in love with my latest obsession. First off, let me just say I love those free little libraries that have popped up everywhere. They can be little treasure chests for readers and book lovers, though they can also be co-opted by those hell bent on proselytism rather than a good romp through a fictional world. They try and stuff the little space with religious books or magazines – no more going door to door or burning the witches I guess – hey, these free little libraries might just be saving lives! I really liked the idea of having tiny libraries everywhere and people becoming comfortable with the idea of “leave a good book, take a good book”; although I know that the honor system never plays out well with humans. Ask anyone who’s ever been responsible for the little snack boxes that ran on that system. People intend to pay later; they don’t think they’ll lose track. I don’t think anyone intends to steal, but the kitty is always short when they count up the change and inventory the snacks. Nice idea, except for that one important flaw.
But, I found something sweeter because it aligns with an old dream I’ve had forever, to own a book shop, which I know isn’t going to happen. You could say, it’s a tiny version of that dream, and it’s also compatible with my current dream of writing, and promoting books and reading.
Here’s what happened:
Just as I was leaving the annual street far in a nearby town, a display caught my eye. There was the usual canopy and table, behind which sat two women. Behind them was a stunning cargo trailer that had been converted into a mini-bookstore. I walked through it and noticed all the details and how they displayed the books. They’d put a door in the front side and one in the back, so one could walk through. Shelves designating different genre’s, books on sale, local authors. The set up was really sweet. There was a mix of new hard back and paper back, authors I recognized and some I didn’t. Mostly books published within the last few years. One shelf of used softcover books in excellent condition, six dollars or less. The outside of the trailer was painted artistically, on approach knowing something special is coming up. They had hanging book racks on the doors which were locked open and another table out front with bins of graphic novels and children’s books. There was a small display of book marks and other bookish trinkets.
I stopped out front to get one of their cards and talk about what they’d done. They wanted to open a book store, but couldn’t decide on a location and couldn’t afford the physical space to set one up. Brick and mortar bookstore not being the most profitable business these days and all, the dream would likely die. Unless they got creative, which is what they did. With the help of their spouses, they’d stripped a used cargo trailer down to nothing and transformed it into a cozy tiny bookstore. On wheels. They now go to street fairs and other events, selling books. They love it.
I had noticed they still had plenty of room for more books, so I assumed they likely didn’t have the funding to purchase inventory. My brain began to click. What if indie authors could sell through something like this? As a writer, I connect with lots of people who have self-published and have a supply of their printed books, who might happily give these booksellers a good cut to sell their books from their perfect tiny book shop. As a dreamer, I’d love to see a rise in the tiny book shop industry and collaborative ways self-published authors can market their books, hold special book launch events, and more. Would love tiny bookshops that integrate with technology so one could buy an e-book with a download, so if a print book wasn’t in stock, a flyer could let customers know how to buy the e-book. What if it teamed up with the coffee or wine place and sponsored a silent book club, what if, what if, what if. I daydream a lot. I see possibilities. Sometimes I write about it, like now.
Book shops aren’t dead; they’re just re-inventing themselves. Long Live the Book Shop!
That’s what I’m excited about today, although I also just passed the 38K word mark in my WIP, so I’m jazzed about that too. I’ve avoided all news of the world today because I needed a friggin’ break. I needed to go out and find good things in the world to celebrate for just a minute before returning to the reality that my country has fallen into fascism, disappearing people for no good reason, eliminating the guardrails to a stable safe society. I needed it before I gear up to go out again, protest sign in hand, to make some good trouble. I’m not sure I can adequately describe the juxtaposition between the crowds at the street fair and the people turning out with their signs. It gives me a headache just to consider it. At the street fair, I could almost forget, along with the majority of the crowd there, that the world was on fire. It seemed almost normal and I keep wondering how the world around me can go on as if it’s business as usual.
I had the same sort of feeling after my mother died. How could the world just keep going on as if it were like any other day? I hate that I’m walking around now carrying that same feeling everywhere, every day.
It’s exhausting.
So yeah, I needed a minute to get excited in a good way and I’ll continue to take a minute now and then to seek out the good things. Seek and ye shall find! That’s just common sense. Because if I can’t find anything good, there’s nothing to fight for, nothing to live for. Maybe, just maybe, all those people at street fairs everywhere will show up with signs the next time, so the message is written in the history books that record breaking numbers of people, millions upon millions, showed up peacefully, made their voices heard and helped redirect the country toward a better future. Told ya’, I’m a daydreamer.
(Shout out to Hidden Pages, discovered at the street fair in Arlington WA today for the inspiration)
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