Fake Snow

Just outside the bookstore is a little city square of sorts. The downtown association in their infinite wisdom decided to attach snow making machines to various light poles. Its San Jose. Is the ice rink not enough to indicate winter? I moved away from Wyoming to avoid the snow. Talk about irony that the place I moved to, and love to live in because of the lack of snow, makes it to create a mood. Sigh.

Then to make life even more interesting and keep us on our toes, was the rumour of the impending arrival of the regional/district? manager. Did he show? We don't know. It was supposed to be secret. I spend the day putting books away, straigtening the store and cleaning up in order to be prepared for this person, and we don't know if he showed. How anticlimatic is that?

And there are the customers. Apparently sometime a couple of weeks ago one of the customers accused a couple of the booksellers, including the assistant manager, rascist. Granted she did come back later and apologize, but, wow, for me, that is a taboo word. You can't throw it around willy nilly. It will lose its power then.

As if that wasn't enough, we also had a previous employer call another bookseller the devil or satan himself. After making these declarations, she promptly quit without notice. As if having PC's "Psycho Customers" isn't enough we have to deal with CB's "Crazy Booksellers". Will the fun never end.


I am in the process of reading "Sleeping with the Fishes" by Mary Janice Davidson. Its the story of a very bitchy mermaid. Dear God, is she funny. I can't get enough of her. Her "Undead and Unwed" series is classic. How does she do it? Because, really, in all my years of reading, I have rarely found someone who can write and make me laugh out loud.

I also finally read "The Innocent Man" by John Grisham. A tragedy through and through. Ron Williamson's life which started out so full of promise, degenerated after one blow or another and resulted in a totally ruined life. It scares me. After all we all start out with potential. Then series of bad luck, mental illness and bad cops leads to 12 years in jail on death row. I would have mental health issues after such bad luck.

I am also reading "Born in Death" by J.D. Robb (Also known as Nora Roberts). This brings up my most current rant; books that are miscategorized. I would argue that Danielle Steel is NOT romance, but fiction...granted women's fiction, but fiction nonetheless. You may recall my rant about James Frey being in Biography and Self Help when he should be in FICTION!!! Laugh. Sorry, couldn't resist. Anyhow there was some comment that J.D. Robb should solely be in Mystery and not in Romance. Why then do I feel that it is Romance with a mystery bent? I still feel the relationship is key to the book which is romance.

Still need to read HRH by Danielle Steel. Also, Linda Howard is coming out with another book, what, next week? A paper back, a sequel no less. A departure of sorts, but then she is writing in first person, so another departure. I am still excited.

Also have to comment that Meg Cabot came out with a new book. Seems like the sequel to "Size 12 is not fat". The title is "Size 14 is Not Fat Either". Don't you just love it?!?!

Sick, sick, sick...

When I walked into the bookstore on Thursday the first thing I noticed was the assistant manager's gravely voice. Then the other bookseller looked at me and I saw her red nose. Ugh. Sickies.

All three people working in the store were sick, not including me and now I am just waiting for the cold to pounce on me. I hate colds! I haven't had my flu shot yet and here I am running around unprotected. I am just asking to be sick.

Then there's the fact that the same guy I gave the $95+ in change to for the mistaken $10 bill was there. He bought another bargain book: $4.99 this time and paid for it with a $20. I bet it was the same $20 that I gave him. I pointed him out to my manager as he was walking out the door, but, really, there is nothing that can be done, other than to ask him to return the money. Yes, like that is going to happen. Now I REALLY don't like the guy.

I did finish "The Ice Prince" by Emma Holly...that same night! Yet again I stayed up way too late reading. I tried to put it down and go to sleep but I had had caffeine earlier that day and so there I was wide away at 1 in the morning. What else could I do but read? But the book was fabulous. Can't wait until she writes some more. Wow, though, her books are really steamy.

I also finished Robin D. Owens book, "Heart Quest". I do love her books, but I feel at times they are a bit slow. You plod through them, plod plod plod. :-) Having said that I always pick up the next one as soon as it shows up and read it, therefore there must be something appealing about them that makes me read them, though I really can't say what.

I have finally started reading "The Innocent Man" by John Grisham. I am only maybe, 1/5 of the way through it and all I can comment now is how it really emphasizes that the possibilities of youth shine so bright and the reality of adulthood dull them. Its sad to me that what we sometimes invision our future to be as a child is so different from what it really ends up being.

Its a marathon, not a sprint.

That day when I mistook the $10 bill for the hundred, I tried to commiserate with my manager. She remarked "There is really nothing I can say that you aren't saying to yourself." then she finished by adding "Just remember, this is a marathon, not a sprint." referring, of course, to the holiday shopping period looming if not already started.

40% of all revenue for the year is aquired for most retail businesses, during the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I learned that from my old job at the mega bookstore during the mandatory "leading up to the Christmas shopping season" meeting at 6:00a.m....in the god awful way too early morning hour(in case the a.m. part didn't tip you off). Given the time of day, crap, 6a.m. isn't day yet in my world, even with my natural tendencies to get up early, I am seriously shocked that I remember ANYTHING from that meeting.

With that running around my head and my new manager failing to console me (not that I really need to be consoled) all I can think, after working for my employer in marketing for three years, is she had just been to her own "leading up to the Christmas shopping season" meeting. Its all just business speak. The Wall Street Journal recently had an article about how business vernacular is invading our lives. Don't know why, but that "marathon" statement reminded me of that article. Vernacular, as I have experienced it, is just another word for euphemism which is just another way of saying something that the other person doesn't really want to hear but won't understand until you walk away.

So, did I mention that I read Chore Whore by Heather Howard (a real life personal assistant)? Couldn't put the book down. Stayed up until one in the morning one night reading, trying to finish it. Then paid for it by being not being able to keep my eyes open the next day. Great book. The cover reads "98% true." What the #$%@ does that mean? If its "98% true" it might as well be in biography with James Frey's memoir as that is definitely less than 98% true. Oh wait, that's right, that book got moved to SELF HELP! If 98% true Chore Whore is in fiction, then A Million Little Pieces should be in fiction as well. Whoops, sorry, did I really write that?

I am now reading The Prince of Ice by Emma Holly as well as Heart Quest by Robin Owens. Yes, I am a parallel reader. See! More vernacular! And I learned that one from someone I know who works at Amazon. A parallel reader is someone who reads more than one book at the same time. Try explaining that to someone who doesn't and they look at you blankly.

Back to The Prince of Ice...I just love Emma Holly...her demon series is unique in a kind of Spock meets Faery way. If you have read it you know what I mean.



Yes, I know, I said I would read The Innocent Man by John Grisham. I will, its just that there are all these other books out there are well. My mantra "So many books, so little time!" And then, Danielle Steel came out with a book I am actually interested in reading. I haven't read anything by her since the eighties. This one is called "H.R.H." with a vaguely Scarlett Johansen looking character on the front cover. To make matters more complicated, J.D. Robb is coming out with a new hardcover on tuesday. You know I have to go pick that one up. Argh!!! Not nearly enough time.