poetry

March…ahh

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…March is more like a rough line of stitches sewn by an unsteady hand, swinging wildly between January gusts and June greens. You don’t know what you’ll find, until you step outside. – V.E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

March is a good month! It beats February. Hands down. As a young girl I thought March was the best month of the whole year. It was magical. Why? It’s my birthday month. Isn’t your birthday month the best month of the year?

The I Hate February Sale was a hit. Customers and owner (me) alike enjoyed themselves. Boxes, armload of books, books in hands, full bags went out the door. All to help make way for boxes to be unloaded from storage (behind the curtain) and get some up on the shelves. Thank you all who stopped in and took advantage of the sale. When’s the next one? Definitely in November as I celebrate twenty years of owning this used bookshop. And it’ll pop up a few other times until then.

Now is a good time to reorganize shelves. Alphabetize where needed. Start spring cleaning. Revamp the store. I always take this time to refresh, what makes sense, what doesn’t. And appreciate what I have here. This store. These books and amazing customers. I am a lucky girl.

The books – the generous friends who met me without suspicion – the merciful masters who never used me ill! – Wilkie Collins, Armadale

I Hate February Sale! 50% Off Books

/ ocub / 1 Comment

…I hate February. So there. I know hating allows bias and bigotry to distort good judgment but consider February. It begins with Groundhog Day, an observance devoted to predicting how rotten the rest of the month is going to be. And the prophet for that forecast is a fat rodent who specializes in harvesting gardens before the people who plant them think the crops are quite ripe.

Now consider the name: February. You can’t even pronounce it. Who tucked that “R” in behind the “B” anyway? Feb-brew-airy. Right. How often do you hear it that way? Feb-you-airy. Feb-wary. And for those with the British speech defect, even Feb-bry. - Steve Delaney, Vermont Seasonings: Reflections on the Rhythms of a Vermont Year.

A kindred spirit!

In a newly arrived stack of books, I found Delaney’s book and started to skim it. It’s divided by months, and I’m not sure why but the author begins the year with March. Ends with February. Thumbing through the February essays I couldn’t stop laughing. I one hundred percent -100%! – agree with him on disliking February. We have different reasons but we each do not like the month, and I have to say, I feel vindicated. I wish we could commiserate over a cup of coffee or tea or a shot of bourbon.

I will celebrate my dislike for the month by having a fun 50% sale on all books. (Ben, owner of The Country Bookshop recommended, if you have a sale make it fun!) And a big bowl of chocolate. Starting Wednesday, February 14 the sale will begin, and end on the 29th. We will get through this ridiculous month.

But think, fast, because the sole grace of February is that at least it’s short, even in Leap Year. – Steve Delaney, Vermont Seasonings: Reflections on the Rhythms of a Vermont Year.