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Happy Meal Literature
the First of Four Meandering Rants on Originality Someone showed me this gem of a new release the other day, and I have to say, it looks awesome. Instant number one on my summer beach read list....
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No Goal, Wide Right, and the Cigarette Smoking Man / 100 Things Fans Should...
previously published on BuffaloSoapBox There are two new books out on the topic of Buffalo sports as part of the ‘100 Things’ series that will make a great addition to any Bills or Sabres fan’s...
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the Trail of Turds / 5 Simple Rules for Using Public Restrooms
this post was updated June 26, 2013 to include #5, as sadly, it was necessary All right, we need to cover a few basics on where it is and is not acceptable to defecate. I wish I had to specify ‘in...
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And Then She Asked If I Wanted to Hear a Funny
A customer asked me the other night if I wanted ‘to hear a funny.’ Being exhausted and not immediately able to translate I asked, “A what?” “A funny,” she repeated with a bit of an edge to her voice....
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Coaxing Salinger to Come Out and Play
Things have gotten a little weird at the ol’ bookstore. Now, I’ve joked with friends about the bookstore being the new bus station and that really isn’t that far off. From the loungers, the...
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So You Want to Work in a Bookstore: Lesson 1 | Joan
I pick up the phone. I know the customer’s voice. She likes to call and talk about RL Stine’s ‘Fear Street’ series and to ask about Lois Duncan novels. Once we tell her what couple of titles for...
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Elf Guilt: a Christmas Tradition
A Look Into the Dark Underbelly of a Holiday Phenomenon Let me put you at ease regarding your purchase: I don’t think you’re a racist, I think you’re wasting $29.95. It’s a stupid purchase. And...
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So You Want to Work in a Bookstore: Lesson 3 | the Chief
This guy looks a lot like one of my little league coaches, the one affectionately referred to as ‘Chief Swings-the-Bat.’ Think Gary Farmer if you ever saw Dead Man. No? The Score? C’mon, that was...
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So You Want to Work in a Bookstore: Lesson 4 | the Captain (again)
This is the Captain: the Prequel. Christmas 2012. My first experience with the legend himself. If I asked a few of the booksellers I’ve worked with over the years, I’d probably have more stories...
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So You Want to Work in a Bookstore for Xmas? | Fun For the Whole Family
Some customers are content to ask just one bookseller a question and call it a day. Some customers prefer to ask every bookseller they can find the exact same question for a variety of reasons, from...
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So You Want to Work in a Bookstore for Xmas? | Here’s to Re-Reading the Wimpy...
If you’re not going to listen to what I tell you, then why did you ask me in the first place? This one’s for all those customers that will ask for a book and then question everything I do to find it...
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Why Reinhold Glière Owes Me Gas Money
“Is there a discount on that for wasting my time?” is what I expected George to say. While he wasn’t doing heel clicks and high fiving people the second time around, he also wasn’t looking for a...
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A Too-Late List for Mr. Poetic Fiction
“Maybe you can help me,” my co-worker said after she waved me over, “That customer over there is looking for ‘poetically written contemporary fiction.’ Everything I’ve suggested he’s pooh-poohed...
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So You Want to Work in a Bookstore: Lesson 7 | Sweatpants Guy
No longer resigned to lounging on the couch on Sundays for every football game ever, no longer for painting or yardwork or staring at that weight bench in your basement you keep intending to use. What?...
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So You Want to Work in a Bookstore: Lesson 10 | the Heartbreaker
It happens throughout the year, but it’s during the holidays when this particular customer has the power to reach right into your chest and rip out your heart, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...
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an Unsettling Evolution of Language
Recently I was in a bookstore (this wasn’t recent; also, I work there) and witnessed a thirteen year old girl who, when asked by her mother if she liked a particular calendar, lifted her leg and made...
View ArticleParty at the Plumbers Local No. 36
Here was an old framed advertisement for an event held at a secret society's temple. Was there something historically significant that occurred on that date? Or was it something at that party to be...
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