On the whole it was a relatively quiet day today. The
first customer was the guy who reminds me of Pete Seeger (with a longer
beard). He looked through the art books, then asked where he could
find books on Socioogy and ended up buying "The Ecology of Running Waters."
A garrolous woman came in with her husband. She was
looking for books by Bruce Alexander, who writes John Fielding mysteries.
She went on to tell me that Fielding was a real person living in the mid
1700s. He was the brother of Henry Fielding and a blind social
reformer, the founder of London's Bow Street Runners. He also
established the basis for the first criminals records department.
She didn't find any of Alexander's books, but her husband
bought two books from our Literature section.
The next customer who came in was a young woman who makes me
realize why I do not wear jeans, especially tight ones.
A woman bought "Shoes of the Fisherman." I remember
reading that sometime in high school, I believe, in the years when I was
reading religion-related novels.
Bruce passed by the bargain books, but did not come into the
store. I haven't seen him inside the store in a long time.
Peter's friend, who usually brings a box of books when I'm
working (and possibly other days as well) showed up with his usual box of
donations.
A pregnant girl and her male companion (no rings.
Married?) browsed for a very long time, hand in hand, until he finally
bought "the Bicycle Companion."
A middle aged woman who wandered around for a short time
before leaving, left a cloud of perfume behind as she passed by the desk,
reminding me again why I don't wear perfume.
An older man in a red jacket with a black stripe was wearing
red shoes with a black stripe. He didn't buy anything, but I thought
his coordinated ensemble was interesting. He had a list in his hand as
he checked the shelves and obviously didn't find what he was looking for.
A man sat at the front table with a book for about 3 minutes
and then came and bought it. It was a coffee table-type book of black
and white photographs.
A tall young man with the bored carriage of the very wealthy
Windsor Horn Lockwood III (from Harlan Coben's Myron Bolitar books) strolled
in, looking down his nose at everything. I didn't see him leave.
My friend arrived around 4:30. I had not seen him in
several weeks and he said he had been busy "lighting shows in Sacramento."
He bought 3 bargain books (all Robert Parker mysteries) and two books of
comic art. It was good to see him again.
The next woman bought a book titled "Fat" from the cookbook
section. I was sorry I hadn't seen it because the title was so
intriguing, I had to check it out on Amazon. "For all of history,
minus the last thirty years, fat has been at the center of human diets
and cultures. When scientists theorized a link between saturated fat and
heart disease, industry, media, and government joined forces to label fat a
greasy killer, best avoided. But according to Jennifer McLagan, not only is
our fat phobia overwrought, it also hasn’t benefited us in any way. Instead
it has driven us into the arms of trans fats and refined carbohydrates, and
fostered punitive, dreary attitudes toward food–that wellspring of life and
pleasure." Sorry I didn't have a chance to look through it--especially
at the recipes! (I'm always up for a good fat-laden recipe)
That customer was with a guy who, in his knit cap, reminded
me of Matt Lauer on a cold New York morning. He bought a book of piano
music.
My last customer was looking for books by Janet Evanovich
for his wife, who was looking at the books outside. I thought I had
seen on on the bargain shelves, but couldn't find any, though I did
recommend the "Cat Who..." books when she indicated an interest in them.
At least it didn't rain.
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