Friday Fun: 25 Things I Learned From Opening a Bookstore

Well, not me, exactly, but...

Anyways, some ideas and experiences from someone out there in blogland who used to be a lawyer and somehow managed to think opening a bookstore was a good idea.


25 Things I Learned From Opening a Bookstore

Here's a chunk from the middle:

19. If you're thinking of giving someone a religious book for their graduation, rethink. It will end up unread and in pristine condition at a used book store, sometimes with the fifty dollar bill still tucked inside. (And you're off and leafing once again).

20. If you don't have an AARP card, you're apparently too young to read westerns.

21. A surprising number of people will think you've read every book in the store and will keep pulling out volumes and asking you what this one is about. These are the people who leave without buying a book, so it's time to have some fun. Make up plots.

22. Even if you're a used bookstore, people will get huffy when you don't have the new release by James Patterson. They are the same people who will ask for a discount because a book looks like it's been read.

Yeah, I've always vaguely dreamed of opening a used bookstore someday. Sadly, I've grown rather fond of eating so I've never gotten around to it.

More like this

My reward for winning in Round One was to be paired up for Round Two. My opponent was the top seed in the section, with a rating of 2179. I received my second white in a row. Here's what happened. I started with my usual king pawn, and he replied with the Modern Defense. This was a fine how…
Ever wonder what it looks like to have 300 games of chess going on in one room? There was a second ballroom, almost as large, which was also filled with players. Well, we have arrived at round eight. In the prior seven rounds I had scored three wins, two losses, one draw, and one win by…
Discover is doing a "25 Greatest Science Books of All-Time" list. The great thing about stuff like this is it gets you thinking, talking, and exposes what your priorities are. There isn't a canonical list with a clear rank order. I mean, yeah, Principia is the bomb, but people can make a case for…
Here's the continuation of some tips to get into (and be happy in) graduate school for the sciences. These tips may help you focus yourself during interviews and the admission process, or at least give you something to think about. 11. Good scientists don't always make good mentors. When you read…