Thursday, July 4, 2013

Independence Day Post--A Few Visitors, A few Tattoos.

Today is the 4th of July and we're open 10 am to 5 pm. One day on our website we'll say that we're open every day except for Thanksgiving and Christmas and list the five days when we're open 10 am to 5 pm, which by the way, is New Year's, Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day. My apologies in advance go to veterans, presidents, and civil rights leaders where we have normal hours.

One of the sad thing about summer is that our regular visitors go away. The nice thing is that other folks visit. Ex-Schwartzian Brian was in from Atlanta who was enjoying The Orphan Master's Son immensely. His brother Kevin, on the other hand (not in person, but via Brian) was touting Jess Walter's The Financial Lives of Poets, which my sister Merrill also just finished. After Beautiful Ruins, that seems to be the Walter novel that is selling the best, due to the news about a Jack Black starring role in the film. Brian and I had lunch at Love Handle, a nice artisan sandwich and small plate shop on North Avenue, that Halley has been talking up. Pork cheeks sounds like the next hot term of endearment, doesn't it?

Another visitor was Therese (there are some accents there I suspect) who was visiting from Phoenix. She has a good amount of tattoos, but the one stands out to me is of course the Boswell on her shoulder. As the niece of my former boss (and co-owner of Schwartz Bookshops) Carol, she is just one of many people who was touched by the bookstore. Only her touch was with indelible ink!

Speaking of tattoos, I asked if I could show the arm of the Becky of Coral-Gables-and-beyond Books and Books. She is famous for getting kids' artists to draw on her arm, and then she gets the drawing permanently inked. I had read about her in Publishers Weekly and it was very exciting to see Otis and Pigeon and friends up close.

I have no idea who we'll see today. If it's you, say hi.



No comments: