Bookstores are my favorite places in the world. Usually I go just to relax, browse, and occasionally pick up something that looks interesting. Yesterday, however, I was on a mission.
In a long and boring story that will be of interest to no one, I was forced to move my home office into a different bedroom of the house. When I’m on camera in this room for a video call, it looks – and I’m being generous here – like I’m in a hostage situation, telling the world that my captors are treating me well and I have no desire to leave.
My idea for a fix was to basically wallpaper over the entire back wall with a very shallow bookshelf, and fill it with something that is both useful entertainment and visually appealing: vintage sci-fi paperbacks from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Gives me something to read when I’m looking for a little pulp fiction escapism, and provides a nice backdrop to my video calls or streaming nights.
I went over to Downtown Books because I knew they had a pretty big selection of what I was looking for, and I would also check to see if they had any Dell Mapbacks that I kinda sorta collect (or at least am starting to).
Usually I don’t engage much with folks when I’m out and about, but in this case I decided to tell you what I was up to and what I was looking for. I found out that you and your dad own and run the shop, you helped me find exactly what I was looking for, and you gave me a very fun surprise, which is why I’m writing up this encounter 🙂
You told me that if I was interested, your dad would be able to take me to your storage building where I could look through thousands of old paperbacks that haven’t made it to the shelves yet, and I could probably get everything I need there.
Am I interested??? Does the pope shit in the woods???
I just wanted to say a quick thank-you here, Rebecca. Yesterday you gave me a rare gift: a sense of wonder . . . of unexpected discovery. It felt like that moment in a video game when one of your conversations in the village results in the key to a dungeon and a new quest, you know? I’m excited to meet your dad and check out the archives soon.
Here’s what the shelf looks like so far. It’s a good start!
Oh, and also? I loved the bottle of ranch sitting up on the front counter. It doesn’t get more Wisconsin than that 😉
