I went into work today (I work very part time at a small, independent book store) to find my boss digging through a huge box of catalogs. She was just back from BEA (Book Expo of America) and had brought back a lot of “stuff”. Since business was slow, we sat there and started looking through all the publisher catalogs. We were looking specifically for materials for the store to purchase for sales, but we couldn’t avoid having some fun for ourselves.

There were a lot of books that we would have loved to get, but knew they would never sell in the store for one reason or another. In most cases, it was price. We know how much people are willing to spend in our area. Note to publishers: $28.00 hardback novels aren’t it.

In some cases, it was geography/sociology. As a former librarian, I do not and cannot condone censorship. But by the same token, as a salesperson in a small book store in a small town in a very conservative area, my boss and I are keenly aware of what will not sell. Erotica is not it.

But for the rest, we had a good time, pointing out good buys to each other, marking them for possible inclusion on the list, showing each other what we’d personally like, but wouldn’t buy (the cookbook showing decadent chocolate desserts looked wonderful, but at almost $50.00? No.) Favorite authors and best sellers were debated. Children’s books looked over and carefully considered.

In the hour we spent, we got through most, but not all, of the catalogs and I can’t wait for the orders to go in, and the books to arrive because looking through the actual books is a whole lot more fun than just reading about it in a catalog.

And one of these days, my books will be in those catalogs for someone to consider. Someday soon, I hope! 🙂