You want to watch me talk myself into buying books I probably can't afford?
I keep a list of books that I glean from the internet. Books that just seem to call out to me. Cool books. Good books. Books that fit my store. Books that I yearn to have....
Books I can't really fit into the budget.
Damn.
'Wait a minute,' I tell myself. A little red figure pops up on my shoulder. 'Christmas is coming!'
'Yeah,' says a little white figure on my other shoulder. 'But what if it does what last summer did, and comes in well below average? Besides, you already spent a bunch of money on sale product that you have to recoup at Christmas.'
Meanwhile, I go on Shelf Awareness, and see these wonderful pictures of covers, I read interviews of authors who proselytize certain books with an evangelistic fervor. 'Oh, I want that book. I really should have that book.'
Then again, every other entry is about another independent bookstore closing. ' Ouch.'
'Yeah, but you're in good shape financially,' I say to myself, my little devil nodding vigorously'-- sure, the cash flow is starting to look iffy, especially if you order too much, but....but.....you have plenty of credit, and these are GOOD BOOKS!'
A thousand dollars would buy a lot of good books. 'A measly thousand dollars....' Says the little devil on one shoulder. 'You'd recoup that in no time!'
'That's what you always tell yourself,' says the angel on the other shoulder. 'You've already got plenty of good books, and you have a budget that will allow you to order more. Just not crazy more.'
'Yeah but Salmon Rushdie is writing a fantasy book! A fantasy book, dude! Salmon Rushdie!" I visualize the little devil with a bunch of books speared on his little tail.
The angel, on the other shoulder, is empty handed, beatific. "When was the last time you sold a Rushdie book? Or a new hardcover?'
And so it goes....
I keep a list of books that I glean from the internet. Books that just seem to call out to me. Cool books. Good books. Books that fit my store. Books that I yearn to have....
Books I can't really fit into the budget.
Damn.
'Wait a minute,' I tell myself. A little red figure pops up on my shoulder. 'Christmas is coming!'
'Yeah,' says a little white figure on my other shoulder. 'But what if it does what last summer did, and comes in well below average? Besides, you already spent a bunch of money on sale product that you have to recoup at Christmas.'
Meanwhile, I go on Shelf Awareness, and see these wonderful pictures of covers, I read interviews of authors who proselytize certain books with an evangelistic fervor. 'Oh, I want that book. I really should have that book.'
Then again, every other entry is about another independent bookstore closing. ' Ouch.'
'Yeah, but you're in good shape financially,' I say to myself, my little devil nodding vigorously'-- sure, the cash flow is starting to look iffy, especially if you order too much, but....but.....you have plenty of credit, and these are GOOD BOOKS!'
A thousand dollars would buy a lot of good books. 'A measly thousand dollars....' Says the little devil on one shoulder. 'You'd recoup that in no time!'
'That's what you always tell yourself,' says the angel on the other shoulder. 'You've already got plenty of good books, and you have a budget that will allow you to order more. Just not crazy more.'
'Yeah but Salmon Rushdie is writing a fantasy book! A fantasy book, dude! Salmon Rushdie!" I visualize the little devil with a bunch of books speared on his little tail.
The angel, on the other shoulder, is empty handed, beatific. "When was the last time you sold a Rushdie book? Or a new hardcover?'
And so it goes....