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Behind the counter
Dec. 5th, 2007 05:13 pmJust call me Manny.
I started my first shift at the Bookshop today. When Bernard in Black Books says that nobody buys books before 10.30am, he was wrong, especially at this time of year. There was someone waiting by the roller door before we'd even opened up!
From then on it was non-stop until I left to get the boys. There were deliveries from yesterday yet to be unpacked, priced and shelved. Many, many, many picking up pre-orders, plus the ones we had to phone to tell them their books were in. At least two of those pre-orders replied with 'Oh, sorry. I don't need that book anymore. Bought it cheaper at K-Mart". Grrr.
And then there were the browsers, and those needing to buy a book for someone but who knew nothing about books themselves. "Ummm, I need to buy a book for someone at work. For our Kris Kringle thingy. I don't know her too well, but she reads and I know she has a twin. Do you have any books called 'The Evil Twin'?" huh? Ummm, no sorry, we don't even have the Bobbsey Twins!
Or - "I wanted to buy a book for my son for christmas. He really wants this book. Can you get it in?" Okay, do you know what it is called? "No, sorry." Do you know the name of the author? "Umm, no sorry. I know it is about a Quest or something though."
What about - "Do you have a book on how to cook Kangaroo that I can send to my son and daughter-in-law in Norway?"
So, other booksellers out there. Is this the way it will be every day I'm there in the shop?
I don't mind if it is at all. It was kind of surreal, actually. Very strange to be out interacting with people again, just chatting and talking and smiling. And it is the surreal moments that really made me smile.
It has all left me quite energetic and bouncy though. Looking forward to getting dinner out of the way and the kids in bed so I can get into some writing.
'Daivadana' is currently sitting at 8,300 words and I'll definitely be finishing up within the next 1,000 words. Things are reaching a climax now and the sentences are becoming much shorter, snappier. Hopefully I can maintain the increased pace until the very end and offer up a really effective finalé. It has been a tough story - seeing as the tale is now so much different from the idea - but I've really enjoyed seeing the various ideas and plot points I'd subconsciously planted in the first few pages converge and grow into something much more complicated, and unified that I'd planned.
I started my first shift at the Bookshop today. When Bernard in Black Books says that nobody buys books before 10.30am, he was wrong, especially at this time of year. There was someone waiting by the roller door before we'd even opened up!
From then on it was non-stop until I left to get the boys. There were deliveries from yesterday yet to be unpacked, priced and shelved. Many, many, many picking up pre-orders, plus the ones we had to phone to tell them their books were in. At least two of those pre-orders replied with 'Oh, sorry. I don't need that book anymore. Bought it cheaper at K-Mart". Grrr.
And then there were the browsers, and those needing to buy a book for someone but who knew nothing about books themselves. "Ummm, I need to buy a book for someone at work. For our Kris Kringle thingy. I don't know her too well, but she reads and I know she has a twin. Do you have any books called 'The Evil Twin'?" huh? Ummm, no sorry, we don't even have the Bobbsey Twins!
Or - "I wanted to buy a book for my son for christmas. He really wants this book. Can you get it in?" Okay, do you know what it is called? "No, sorry." Do you know the name of the author? "Umm, no sorry. I know it is about a Quest or something though."
What about - "Do you have a book on how to cook Kangaroo that I can send to my son and daughter-in-law in Norway?"
So, other booksellers out there. Is this the way it will be every day I'm there in the shop?
I don't mind if it is at all. It was kind of surreal, actually. Very strange to be out interacting with people again, just chatting and talking and smiling. And it is the surreal moments that really made me smile.
It has all left me quite energetic and bouncy though. Looking forward to getting dinner out of the way and the kids in bed so I can get into some writing.
'Daivadana' is currently sitting at 8,300 words and I'll definitely be finishing up within the next 1,000 words. Things are reaching a climax now and the sentences are becoming much shorter, snappier. Hopefully I can maintain the increased pace until the very end and offer up a really effective finalé. It has been a tough story - seeing as the tale is now so much different from the idea - but I've really enjoyed seeing the various ideas and plot points I'd subconsciously planted in the first few pages converge and grow into something much more complicated, and unified that I'd planned.
