Sunday, December 16, 2007

Another Aside

More kids and babies coming soon.  For now, another one of my book related ponderings coming at you.

How do you avoid sounding like a huge dork when you gush to a customer, "Oh!  You are so lucky that you haven't read this yet!  I'm so excited for you!"?  Some people get that, most do not and just look at me like perhaps I'm a little too invested in their reading material.  I feel that way about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Red Tent, The Time Traveler's Wife, To Kill a Mockingbird, and so many more.  You can read them over and over again, but it's never the same as the first time (how many things does THAT statement apply to?)  That first time, when you postpone finishing the book because then it's over, even though you are just DYING to find out what happens.  Then you read the last sentence and put the book down and just stare for awhile because you are not quite ready to return to real life.  For me, the hardest part is what comes next, that feeling that there is nothing else out there that could possibly live up to what I have just read.  So I shun the wannabees.  I can't read anything else until my unrealistic expectations have dissipated a bit.

 I remember having an Ecolab exterminator who came to the store monthly to ensure we were bug free.  This woman was PASSIONATE about bugs.  Only the dead ones, though.  She loved to talk about different killing devices and decomposing bodies.  I found it a little creepy, but had to give her props for finding her passion in life.  Maybe customers will think the same of me (without the creepy part.)

So, how do I avoid sounding like a big dork?  I believe that ship has sailed.

2 comments:

Mrs. G. said...

I admire you restraint. I could never work in a bookstore, because I would come close to molesting customers with my opinions on what they absolutely NEEDED to be reading. I would follow them around monitoring their choices.

I try to surround myself with people who are passionate about what they love. It makes for good company.

Anonymous said...

I think you should be very careful about writing "more kids and babies coming soon" I thought you were announcing the eminent arrival of a 5th little Boddeker! Candy