The woman calls on a Sunday asking if we have a certain book. There is an edge of panic in her voice.
“I start school on Tuesday,” she explains. “The school bookstore is out and I have to have this book by Wednesday. Can you help me?”
I keep her on the phone and look up the book in the system: The Bluebook. It’s a style manual for all things legal, a guide on how to cite American legal documents.
“I can have it for you here in the store by Tuesday afternoon.”
“Okay, yeah, I’ll take it,” she says. “I’ll come by on Wednesday.”
The book looks cheap, it’s spiral bound, but it costs over $50. I probably should have had her prepay for a book that expensive, I think to myself.
Maile tells me the story of a different customer, a young woman who comes into the store and begins looking through the shelves quietly. Maile asks if she can help. At first they talk about books in general, but then the young woman looks at her, and sighs, and asks a question.
“Do you have a book that would be good to read if you’ve just been through a painful breakup?”
People ask for books that would make good wedding gifts and books that would make good gifts at a baby shower. Graduation gifts. A book for a friend whose father passed away. A book to read at the beach. Something sad or scary or light.
Why do we turn to books in such times?
Maile and the girl look through the shelves. There are no other customers in the store, and while they sift through the stories, Maile trying to find the right one, the young woman recounts the relationship that no longer is. She shares her story with Maile who, seconds before, was a complete stranger, but has quickly moved into the realm of confidant and book recommender.
As Ethan Hawke puts it,
So you have to ask yourself: Do you think human creativity matters? Well, hmm. Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about poetry. Right? They have a life to live, and they’re not really that concerned with Allen Ginsberg’s poems or anybody’s poems . . . until their father dies, they go to a funeral, you lose a child, somebody breaks your heart, they don’t love you anymore, and all of a sudden, you’re desperate for making sense out of this life, and, “Has anybody ever felt this bad before? How did they come out of this cloud?”
When we’re desperate to make sense out of life where do we turn?
Many of us turn to books, to stories.
The woman did come in on Wednesday for The Blue Book. She was not a talker. She took the book and thanked me and paid for it and turned to leave. I managed to get a question or two in during the process.
“Are you in law school?”
“I’m training to be a paralegal, but eventually I’d like to become a lawyer.”
“That’s great,” I said, handing her the book. “Good luck.”
“Thanks,” she said, and it was only as she walked out the door that I realized she had an ankle monitor on.
So many different people, in so many different circumstances, come through our shop. It really is a beautiful thing, this story oasis in the middle of the city.
This week’s Top Shelf books are all nonfiction, books that I’ve either read or are looking forward to reading.
The first book is a deep dive into creativity and the mindset of the creative person: The Creative Act by Rick Rubin.
Two things continue to stick with me after finishing this book, two concepts that have made an impact on my creative and writing life.
The first is, “The audience comes last.” Rubin states that in order to create to the best of your ability, and in order to create what you are meant to create, you have to move away from caring about what the audience thinks . . . at least at the beginning. Follow your own passions and interests. Lean into what you love. This is way.
The second concept is, “Impatience is arguing with reality.” I’ve found this to be extremely helpful when it comes to the larger writing journey—so many of us creatives want to be further down the road, have a bigger audience, or experience more success . . . today. But impatience in that regard is simply an argument with reality, with the way things really are.
Another concept I love from the book: “Oscar Wilde said that some things are too important to be taken seriously. Art is one of those things. Setting the bar low, especially to get started, frees you to play, explore, and test without attachment to results.”
I highly recommend The Creative Act by Rick Rubin.
Concerned with how religion in the United States is being leveraged as a weapon of power?
Scott Coley has put together a comprehensive book outlining a concept he calls Christo-authoritarianism and how it’s working itself out in the United States. Ministers of Propaganda is a fascinating read.
“This timely volume unravels rhetoric and biblical prooftexting that support Christo-authoritarianism: an ideology that presses Christian theology into the service of authoritarian politics.”
Finally, I can’t recommend the following book highly enough: Leaving the Land of Numb by Don Follis. In it he recounts the journey of his life from a place where he ignored his feelings to the place where he allowed himself to feel all that life had to offer—pain as well as joy, anger as well as happiness.
From an early divorce to career disappointment and even through the loss of his son, Follis takes us on his journey from numbness to the unfurling of his emotional and spiritual life. His voice is gentle and encouraging, and even though he has changed a lot since his childhood and young adult years, Follis looks back on his younger self with grace and kindness.
It’s a beautiful book.
To order these books, or any other book on your mind, email us at hello@nooks.gallery. All orders over $25 receive free shipping. Our deepest thanks to those of you who buy your books from us—you help keep the dream of a small, independent bookstore alive.
What’s a book you’ve read recently that’s changed your mind about something?
Shawn, I was taken by Rick Rubin's reflections (of which I keep hearing in many places), especially his "forget the audience."
As I pick up my pencil and scratch out a poem then revise, revise, revise I want to keep this in mind.
Thank you for showing us the power of books and stories and words.
Wonderful story! I imagine working in a bookshop is such a rich experience.