life at a bookstore

I had this vision of what life working at a bookstore would be like. Oh, its nothing like what I had imagined. There no coffee drinking except on a break which are strictly 15 minutes. There are no discussions with customers on what type of book they enjoy. No discussion of books read. Part of that has to do with it being so insanely busy that there just isn't time to have those conversations.

I work for a fairly large nation wide book store. So more than anything its a cooperation that just wants to make money. Yeah, it seems a little better since we are selling books. We're selling classic literature to high schoolers who might be inspired and become the next J.D. Salinger or Hemingway or Tolstoy. Except, these high schoolers don't care. They want the shortest book, despite the fantastic selection of great books they've been give to chose from. They want to know if there are sparknotes(similiar to cliffnotes) on Lois Lowry.

It doesn't help that our management staff is....well just that, a management staff. They don't necessarily love books or reading or writing. A portion of them do and really care about the book aspect of the store. The others unfortunetly are the ones who have risen to the top and are now in charge and make our days a living hell. Whether its the passive aggressive manager who is so afraid of confrontation most of the time he won't step out of the office. He's also one of those people who won't ever look you in the eye. Another one of our fantastic managers is that type of person who will ask you a question about why you are 4 minutes late but then when you go to answer her, she doesn't want to hear it.

On top of that we have some floor leads who think they are more than a highly over worked, slightly paid more bookseller. One floor lead who we'll call Bill. Bill is a frat boy, one hundred percent. A frat boy who takes his job as selling books as seriously as a doctor would take brain surgery. We sell books people. Books!! We aren't saving lives and apparently not imparting wisdom on younger generations. Another lead, we'll call this one Sally. Sally is one of those former drama people. Sally freaks out if there are a few books left over at the end of the day that haven't gotten reshelved. Sally comes into the store and is one of those people who will tell you every intimate detail of their life. Regardless if you are good friends or not friends at all.

I love the idea of working in a bookstore. A real bookstore. A small hole in the wall bookstore. Where people only go in there who love reading. Who love stories of far away places. Who don't mind reading books writting in old english. I am convinvced there are still those bookstores out there where you can have a cup of coffee and read while there are no customers. A bookstore where us college students can perhaps study while there is no work to be done. I am not a lazy person. I think I have a good work ethic. But as I grow older, I'm realizing what not to worry about and stress over. One of those things I refuse to stress out over is whether or not all the strays get done or not. If the store isn't in perfect shape at the end of the day..its ok.