The new woman at the local bookshop isn’t very friendly. Last week I went in to buy a book and asked if they sold Kindles. My husband wanted to give Kindle Unlimited a go and we only have a Kobo. So I asked her if they sold them because I seem to recall some of the bookshops having ereaders back in the day.
Well I thought her head was going to fly right off her shoulders.
‘No,’ she barked at me. ‘We only sell real books.’
I wanted to point out the telescopes and globes and journals and puzzles as evidence that they do in fact sell far more than ‘real books’ but I refrained. I did reply with, ‘I need to buy one so I though I’d support you guys if you have one before going to *insert name of disliked, over-priced electronics supplier here*.’
She warmed slightly to me at this point and by warmed I mean she met my eyes. I wished her a super happy day and left the shopping centre via *insert name of disliked, over-priced electronics supplier here*.
(Hubby is loving his Kindle and loving the almost unlimited options of space opera/quirky adventure tales over there. These are stories that rarely find their way into print and even more rarely into brick and mortar book shops. I also have a story on KU. At last glance 16 people have read it. It’s a weird story about a nasty woman who ruins a man’s life and then he travels back in time to… well you’ll just have to read the story to find out!)
So today I went to the book shop to get another book… yes I know, it’s an addiction but it’s better than cocaine. I bought Charlotte Wood’s The Luminous Solution.
It would have been cheaper to buy it from Booktopia but I like to go into an actual bookshop. You meet the nicest people…
Anyway, today’s subject was podcasts and how great they are (me) followed by how they are shit and not as good as books (her). Print books, of course and never, ever, ever audio books.
But what about when you’re vacuuming? (me, cheeky grin)
Shrug (her)
I guess you can read while the cleaner vacuums (me, mirroring her shrug)
A blank stare (her)
She will be my friend by Christmas!
Loved this.
You make me laugh! What a great story!
You’ve got six months to make her your friend. By then, I bet she’ll give you a Christmas present. Maybe a hard cover!
Hahaha if it’s December and she still hasn’t come around I’ll drop ‘my friend Fiona McIntosh’ into the conversation 🤩
Went in to buy another book (I know…I have a problem…) today and she wasn’t there. They didn’t have the book I wanted so I bought it at BigW! Gasp!