It's Thursday and it's Edith, and that's right.
Susan/Sarah was here on Sunday, doing a loverly interview with me, and so here I am for her today!
Just a musing here, friends.
Yesterday I went to a huge chain bookstore I don't usually frequent.
It was all togged out for the Holidays.
I used to find all kinds of books there....
Not this time.
See, more than half the store was given over to oddments and thingamabobs: Christmas cards and birthday cards and I miss you so dreadfully and please get well cards. Magazines, and wrapping paper and ribbons. And candy! Chocolates and lollipops in gaily wrapped packages.
There was a coffe shop there too.
And a display of ointments and salves from a prestigious beekeeper.
And music CD's, Tapes, and Videos and recorded books, movies and classic TV shows and suchlike, etc. There were also games galore: computer, video, puzzles and plain old board games too.
There were calendars: wall sized, half a wall sized, desktop, mini, memo, page a day and appointment books. And there was a separate free standing shelf with little desktop purple, black and white artificial Christmas trees and little feather boas for the white plastic reindeer they had, bows, and ornaments for the tree too. And Oh so many more Things I can't remember them all!!!
oh.
And yes. Some books.
But not many, and mostly "Gift" books. (big color picture books.)
It reminded me of the old "candy stores" I went to as a child. They sold cigarettes, cigars, candy bars and newspapers and magazines.
Only, the candy stores sometimes had more books.
I bought some great calendars, though.
While gently weeping, mind. Because I have two books out now, and I like to visit them, which is why I went there in the first place, but no one at that chain store cared much about displaying them.
What is to become of the real bookstore?
Did the chains push out the mom and pop stores and then change their minds about what they would sell - like the huge chain hardware stores did after they forced all the mom and pop local stores to close? Do you find this trend in your hometown?