Vermont

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N…for a few days

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“- “Women should all move to Amazonia, or at least vacation there four times a year.”
– “Amazonia?”
– “It’s the girl world in my head, where I go when I’m annoyed with Carter, or just men in general. There are five shoe stores per capita, nothing has any calories, and all the books and movies end happy ever after.”
– “I like Amazonia. When do we leave?”
~ Nora Roberts

“I said, I prefer the ocean when it’s gray. Or not really gray. A pale, in-between color. It reminds me of waiting for something good to happen.”
~ Lauren Oliver, Delirium

“Every person needs to take one day away.  A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future.  Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence.  Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.  Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.”
~ Maya Angelou, Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now

What that all means is I’m taking a few days and heading south – to the NH/ME shoreline – to clear my head of book dust, read a few a them, eat some buttery seafood, and watch the waves pound the rocky shore. Even put my toes into the icy Atlantic.

2014 Road Trip

2014 Road Trip

OCUB will be closed Mon-Fri, November 2-6. I’ll be back open on Saturday but at 10 a.m. (regular advertised store hours) since the Farmers Market will be heading to their winter quarters at Mary Hogan Elementary School.

A customer asked me what I am bringing to read. I’m going to finish Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon. Also finish Book Row: An Anecdotal and Pictorial History of the Antiquarian Book Trade by Marvin Mondlin and Roy Meador. Two to start: Michael Gruber’s The Book of Air and Shadows and The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. But you know, I’m going to pick up more books along the way to and from NH/ME as we stop in to say “Hi!” to some favorite book dealers. More than likely those will be the ones I’ll want to start in with.

Have a great week!

Closing of A Used Bookstore (no, not mine)

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* Please add [used] in front of the word “bookstore” in the following quotes:

Dickens_set“I hate that bookstores are closing. Hate it! What’s better than hanging out in a bookstore, be it independent or chain, and talking books with people who love books?” – Lisa Jackson

“A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking,”  – Jerry Seinfeld

“A civilization without retail bookstores is unimaginable. Like shrines and other sacred meeting places, bookstores are essential artifacts of human nature. The feel of a book taken from the shelf and held in the hand is a magical experience, linking writer to reader.” – Jason Epstein

“We didn’t just lose a bookstore though, we lost a bit of magic. We lost a bit of wonder. We lost a safe haven where it’s still OK to dream big dreams. To walk down aisles and aisles of “what if?” Books are not collections of paper, they’re invitations to different worlds. And being in a bookstore is like getting a passport.” – Jon Acuff

booksonbooksJust received word that a fellow used bookstore will be closing the end of October. It makes me sad and I’m grieving. Fortunately, the owner will still be around. He is taking a bit of his inventory  and sell online. But we all know that isn’t the same thing. He told me that he and his wife are happy and excited. They get their lives back after eighteen years. They get freedom. Not tied to the store anymore. Still it stinks. I’m sure he’ll still answer all my crazy questions. But it won’t be the same. Regardless, I wish them all the very best.

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Here Comes A Rollickin’ Good Week

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Fun with books!

Here’s Hannah, Grey and me  with piles of our favorite books. Grey seems very intent. Not us. We know it’s going to be a rollickin’ good sale!

Guess what next week is? Give up? It’s SALE WEEK. Monday – Saturday, August 31 through September 5. Yep! All books are…ready for this?…. 50% OFF.  You saw that right. 50% off!  Following my mentor, Ben, let’s have some fun. Get in here and get all your books for 50% off.  That’s one book or boxes of books. All are half off.  All you bring up to the counter are discounted. Yes, all.  Celebrating OCUB being in the Historic MarbleWorks for four years. I know! Hard to believe but yet it feels like we’ve always been here.

“His hands were weak and shaking from carrying far too many books from the bookshop. It was the best feeling.” ― Joseph Gordon-Levitt, The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, Vol. 1  [We have lots of bags and boxes.]

 

 

 

Otterly A Used Bookstore

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paris3Owning a used bookstore is heaven. But you know that because it can be anything you want it to be. Above all it’s magical. You know that as well.

This summer I’ve had numerous customers from Great Britain step through my doors. They all speak of how it is getting harder to find used bookstores in their country.  Stores are closing their doors due to availability of buying on the internet. That makes them sad. Harder for them to find a store they can wander in to admire older books, pick them up, hold them, smell them, turn the pages, and most of all, to connect with the book before purchase. What a jewel of a shop I have, they say. I must do all I can to keep the store alive. I tell them I try. I try very hard to keep it going. To keep it viable. To keep it fresh. To keep it alive. To keep it. (p.s. it’s off the market!)

IMG_0841I’d like to think that I’ve kept my enthusiasm up since purchasing the store. I’d like to think that I’ve changed the store around to offer quality used books. Interesting books. Books that appeal to many of my customers. Finding books that one would be excited to discover on a shelf. Old books with amazing covers to unique books that one just doesn’t run into everyday. Classics.

somedaysI admit that I get claustrophobic. Having a used bookstore may not be the best choice of retail to take on but yet I have. I’m getting better with it. I can deal with the boxes and piles of books that I have to step over. I can make great piles that don’t fall over. That is an art, you know. I know my limits and work to stay within because I’m the one who’s in the store day-after-day. I know some potential customers get irritated with me when I decide to not accept books for purchase or credit. Regular customers get an exception. They keep me in business through their regular purchases. That’s fair. I think so. But then they know. They can walk in and know right away if I’m accepting books or not. I love them for that.

122012_5I gotta say that it makes me sad when I take in books and find the telltale Amazon sticker on the backs. I can purchase books that come in for resale but yet the customer doesn’t come in to buy books? Keep the store in business.  At least give a used bookstore a call/email to find out if a book is available in our stock. Telling me, as one drops off books for me to inspect, that they want me to stay around by keeping me supplied in books is totally missing the mark. I cannot be here without paying customers.

photo(7)Right now there is father sitting in a child’s chair reading to his daughter in the children’s room. How precious is that? That makes my heart sing and happy that I can be here so he can have a special moment with her. It’s those things that pushes me to remain open.  As well as the regulars and our great conversations from what we are reading to what’s going on with our lives. And of course those from Great Britain.

“I just love the smell of an old book store and the feel of the crisp pages
along my fingertips.”  ~Leah Spiegel, Foolish Games

 

Midd Arts Walk – July 10 – Featuring Ben Aleshire, Poet-for-Hire

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midd-art-walk_sitin-posterFriday, July 10th the Middlebury Arts Walk will be an Art Sit-In. Artists have been encouraged to spread out all over town and set-up their easels, open their art pads, bring their knitting needles, thread their needles and get brushes ready. The Arts Walk will featuring all sorts of artists using all types of mediums all over the town. Including the Historic Marble Works.

OCUB will be featuring poetry through Poet-for-Hire, Ben Aleshire, who will be set-up outside the store’s door.

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Aleshire is originally from Cuttingsville, VT. He’s an award-winning poet who edits Honeybee Press, but he also works as a ‘Poet-for-Hire’, by creating custom poems for all who pass by in the street, typed up on a manual typewriter. He typically can be found every Saturday at the Farmer’s Market in Burlington. For the last several years he was a fixture on Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Books and broadsides printed with lead type in a Vandercook letterpress will also be available.

A sample of his poetry:

Apology to the Dandelion
by Benjamin Aleshire

Forgive me, friend —
I wished too hard.
We all go to pieces, sometimes.
Now I must comb
this vast meadow
for every last bit of you —
Oh   oh   the others are not like you.
You are the only one.
In this field yellow with others,
their gold means nothing to me;
I cannot even see them,
though they surround me.
How could I not have realized
that what I was wishing for
was already waiting in my hand?
for Marianne

Currency front Cover

Stop by. It’ll be fun.

June Middlebury Arts Walk features White Dragon Paper

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IMG_2091White Dragon Paper is R. Lawton who makes handmade paper and journals since 2008.

The leather journals are made with recycled paper. R. Lawton prides herself on using only recycled, eco-friendly fiber and reducing the amount of paper that is wasted. The leather is sourced from a scrap bin of a local leather supply store located near her.

 

 
Here is a sampling of her handmade paper. I love the range of colors:

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You can find R. Lawton and White Dragon Paper at Etsy.com. Check her out!

Current Window Display – A Toast to the U.S. Virgin Islands

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Highfield_windowA wonderful family friend asked if I would be interested in displaying some books he’s written. YES! was my response. Of course. I think I was more honored that he asked me than anything.

The local author is Arnold R. Highfield, a professor, historian, writer, and poet. He’s best known for his historical works on the Danish West Indies and the United States Virgin Islands. He began his teaching career in 1964 and taught in several colleges including the University of the Virgin Islands (St Croix campus), Lycee Jaccard in Pully, Switzerland, and Middlebury College.

In addition to his own writing, Highfield has published an impressive number of translation editions, and numerous other books, academic papers and articles along with two books of poetry.

Mr. Highfield and his wife, Shirley DeChabert-Highfield, have lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands since the 1960s and currently divide their time between homes in Le Grande Princesse, St. Croix, and Middlebury, VT.

Please stop in the store to see his books and list of his published works.

Thank you, Mr. Highfield. I am honored.

What does a used bookstore lady do when she has two days off?

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Of course….visit another used bookstore! Rusty and I found ourselves heading northward and I remembered, “Hey! Ben’s having a 50% off sale! Let’s check it out!” So we did. Each used bookshop I visit I find that it totally reflects the owner. How can it not? [Yes, I wonder how my shop reflects me! What am I saying about myself? Curious.] CBS1The Country Bookshop [35 Mill Street, Plainfield, VT] is so Ben Koenig. And I mean that in the most respectful way. He has the best sense of humor and a broad knowledge of the used bookstore world – business and books. And knows his customers. I’ve always wanted to visit him in his world. Unfortunately he wasn’t in that day as Sundays are his day off. Mine, too. Lucky for him he has a great employee, Frances, who was minding the shop for him. We had a great conversation about books, the internet, and working in a used bookstore. I took advantage of his generous sale and left with a good stack of books to bring back here to the store. (Another way how we get inventory.) In fact, Ben, was the one who stated at a Brick & Mortar meeting that if you are going to have a sale why not make if fun for everyone. Make it 50%! So I do. And yes, it is a lot of fun. And a good way to move around inventory as well. When Ben is having a sale there are a zillion signs around proclaiming that one is going on. Here is one:CBS3It’s gets me how the sign states “It may seem too good but it’s true!” When I host a sale I get people coming up to me asking if ALL books are 50%. I guess it does seem too good to be true. But it is! That’s where the fun comes in. Seeing the joy over the book buyer’s face with the realization that yes, the books they have in their hand is indeed half off. CBS The next day, Rusty and I hiked Buck Mountain. It’s been on our bucket list for years. We decided to tackle it as the first hike of the season. A wonderful climb with an amazing view of the lower Vermont Champlain Valley. buck_snake

I’ve been a busy otter…

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So busy. In fact, right now and for the past couple of weeks buying back college-related books – textbooks. And getting them packed up and shipped out for the next day. And on top of that helping customers, SPS (sorting, pricing, shelving) new arrivals, keeping the floor swept, filling in holes on the shelves, straightening shelves, and trying, really trying to keep the store tidy. If you’ve been in lately you know the last item hasn’t been happening. But not for trying!

MAW_052015The Middlebury Arts Walk was several weeks ago with the theme of Children. I chose the book  “Little Blue and Little Yellow,” by Leo Lionni, for a StoryWalk. The path of pages led from Printers Alley through the historic Marble Works with the last page at the store’s door. Upon reading the book, children were given a bag of their own Little Blue and Little Yellow, made from homemade playdough (that I and my grandson, Greyson made) to create their own story of the pair. It is a great story about friendships as well as color. And the book sold that night. The pages were photocopied and laminated to preserve the book.

I’m excited about June’s Arts Walk. I’ll be featuring the work from White Dragon Paper. The artist, R. Lawton, hails from Ohio. She is a papermaker as well as a book binder. I’ll tell more about her and show images of her work as the time gets closer. I love handmade paper and I love books!

Must get back to work! Thought I’d just jot a quick note. Especially since a valued customer noted I had lapsed! 🙂