Richard Thompson is one of our Bookstore Angel

We are so fortunate that I could write a whole series of posts about our bookstore "angels" -  customers and authors who go above and beyond by telling everyone they know about us, bringing new customers to the store and who buy all their friends' gifts at our store.

We have wonderful angel authors who ask us to host their launch parties, promote us through social media, sign special books requests and who join us in fan girl/boy worship.

Today, I want to talk about Richard Thompson who was a bookstore angel from before we even opened our doors. Due to delays in permit approvals (grrrr...), we held our first three events next door because the store space was not allowed to be open. A kind acquaintance shared Richard's email with me and he agreed to come sign! I was star-struck because I knew and loved his cartoons in the Washington Post and Cul de Sac.  The signing line moved very slowly and being new to the bookselling business, I didn’t know whether that was normal, so I went up to take a look -- Richard was drawing everyone their favorite character. That's when I realized that having a bookstore was one of the coolest things ever - you have an excuse to reach out to people you admire and whose work you love and you get to meet them!

Richard has been an amazing supporter of the store, offering to sign books for customers and tracking down copies of the increasingly elusive Richard's Poor Almanac.  We can always tell when Richard has blogged or communicated about us being his local book store because we are inundated with emails and calls from around the world. His fans are many and devoted and will wait as long as it takes to get a signed copy of one of his books.  We have been the recipient of many emails of joy and gratitude when customers get their long desired book or when they want to tell Richard how much they love his work. It's humbling to be part of that.

This past Saturday, we were privileged (excited, honored, thrilled) to host an event to celebrate the release of The Art of Richard Thompson at the Arlington Central Library. Richard has a way of bringing people together and this event was no exception. Editors Nick Galifianakis, David Apatoff, Chris Sparks and Mike Rhode as well as Michael Cavna of The Washington Post were on hand to discuss Richard's work and the new book. The event started off with the warm and moving The Art of Richard Thompson documentary, created by one of Richard's neighbors, Andy Hemmendinger, president of GVI, along with Bob Burnett, GVI’s vice president and creative director. Read this great article by Mike Cavna about how Andy came to know Richard and hear from the editors of the book.

Panel discussions, Q&A, documentary - it was all wonderful and we could have used hours more, but the two best parts to me were:

• Extended standing ovation for Richard from people who know and love him whether they have met him personally or feel like old friends through his work. It started off as a quiet roar, but just grew and grew and no one wanted it to end.

• It felt like a reunion - old friends catching up, an abundance of cartoonists who contributed work to Team Cul de Sac, college friends, teachers, and neighbors. There was so much catching up going on that the library pretty much had to push us out the door (not pretty much -- they did have to push us out the doors) and the party continued on at Richard's house.  

It takes a special person to create such a wonderful circle of friends and fans. We're humbled and thrilled to be a little part of that circle.

Terry's on to something

As I read a review of Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at what You Do by Wallace J. Nichols, I thought of Terry on sabbatical this summer at her place on the water. While we greatly miss her presence at the store, I love that she stays true to herself and is the picture of peace and relaxation.

Nicola Joyce's review in the Washington Post highlighted aspects of Nichols' book that resonated with what I have long felt: "the sensory appeal of water, showing us how the sight, sound, feel, and even smell and taste of water affect us on an incredibly deep and raw level." "Nichols calls on neuroscience to explain the cognitive processes our minds go through in response to water, combining scientific language and examples with personal anecdotes and stories...It’s incredible to think that we can alter our brain’s positive neural pathways by increasing our exposure to happy experiences in, near or on water, but apparently it’s true."

Reading this review also reminded me that my decision to investigate opening a bookstore instead of continuing in consulting came while vacationing on Sanibel Island.

Perhaps I need to follow Terry's lead, head to the water, read and just be for a little while.

Still not enough...

time, money or book stands. A couple years ago, I said that you could never have enough money or book stands.  We're getting close on the book stands, so I will substitute in "time." I naively throught that after almost 4 years, things would have settled into more of a routine (probably more experienced book sellers are laughing right now).  Just as busy, just as broke as I was several years ago.  Busy with different things and many quite fun, but still feeling like there's never a break.

This is a year of decisions - the lease on our current location is up next year - as the Clash would say: should I stay or should I go?  Given that our rent will most likely increase, how much is too much? Could we start all over again somewhere else?  If you see me and I'm staring out into space, I could be thinking of these decisions or I might just be tired (either way, candy or a drink will bring me right back).

Things that go together

We really have a lot of fun when we see something and immediately think of a book to pair it with. We crack ourselves up over some of our combinations and then explain to others why they are so funny. Not sure if that makes us book nerds or just nerds.

Here are some of our latest combinations:

1) 

and Word Crimes by "Weird Al" Yankovic (listen - you'll love it).

2) Champion Killer Kolsch beer next to Lars Kepler or any of my Scandinavian thrillers favs (note the bloody hands shown on the beer can).

And finally 3)

Love the thoughtful use of taxidermed rodents. 

Not everyone appreciates this (almost) lost art form. 

(Terry and I came up with this one after last night's wine tasting)

You're too busy when...

...the book club is reading Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity, the National Book Award winning book from Katherine Boo and you read The Siege: 68 Hours Inside the Taj Hotel by Cathy Scott-Clark and Adrian Levy.

Granted they are both non-fiction and take place in Mumbai, but seriously how could I confuse them? In my defense I was listening to the audiobook, so I didn't have the cover staring me in the face.  

On the other hand, I was writing about book club, reminding people about the discussion and patting myself on the back for actually reading a book club book. I did realize I read the wrong book about 1/2 before book club started, but seriously...

Stop...breathe...take your time...and try again.

The intersection of beer and books - sometimes it's a name, a region of the country/world and sometimes it's the image on a beer can.

As we were stocking our new beer the other day, we noticed red on one of the cans. When we looked it more closely we realized it was a person, kneeling down, with BLOOD on their hands (the beer was called Killer Kolsch from Champion Brewing Company in Charlottesville).

 Immediately, Lelia walked over to the mystery section and pulled out The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler - an instant display.  I think the cover gives you a good idea what type of book you're in for (my kind of book). Guess we'll have as much fun pairing beer with books as we have connecting our wines with favorite books.

If you've talked with me lately, you know that the verb "tinysizing" has become part of my vocabulary, inspired by The Big Tiny by Dee Williams. While Terry and I were selling Dee's book at Boneyard Studios here in DC and looking at tiny house plans, I saw one that would make a fantastic pop-up bookstore. Earlier today as I shared my tinysizing activities with a friend, I mentioned the pop-up bookstore idea and how it reminded me of my very first job - shelving books on a bookmobile.

I grew up in a new development and the only libraries were in school. During summer vacation, the only place to get books was during the weekly visit from the bookmobile. I still remember the thrill of all those books -- with new ones every week. I still want to be part of the unexpected surprises and wonders of books you didn't even know you wanted. (this is similar to the inside of the book mobile I worked on). Stay tuned to see where we go with this idea.

If it's January, it must be time for another blog post. That seems to be my routine.

This year, I'm fortunate to be visiting with my sister and her family in India. These first few days of my trip I've been struck by the universality of reading and books. It seems no matter who I talk with or where I'm at, books come up -- from the scientist sitting next to me on the plane who shared his favorite book (Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind by V. S. Ramachandran, Sandra Blakeslee and Oliver Sacks) and who was intrigued by my mention of The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Kean --  -- to a gentleman on yesterday's flight from Udaipur to New Delhi toting his hardback copy of Coolidge by Amity Shlaes.

It's been fun visiting the numerous bookstores featuring some very familiar titles (often with unfamiliar covers) as well as titles that I've never seen and that reflect the specific interests and geography of where we're at.  I've given out business cards to co-workers of my sister and her family who are thrilled to know we're in Arlington and plan to stop by or tell their friends about us.

With the varied authors who've visited the store, the discussions with customers and staff and books I've been fortunate to read, I feel that there's something that can connect me to almost everyone I meet - whether in Arlington, VA or India. And that is one of the many superpowers of books.