Dream jobs, to-be-read piles and puzzles

If you were told today, you can do anything you want for your job/career-no limitations or restrictions, what would you do? I would still do what I am doing today, sort of.  My favorite thing in the world about being a bookseller is getting kids excited about books. I absolutely love doing story times.  If I had the means and the time, I would create a traveling children’s theatre group that would travel across the country performing for kids.  I would also hand out books to kids after every performance, just to share the love of reading.  Seeing that this is not a practical or profitable business plan, it is not quite something I can do.  Now, if I win the lottery and have oodles of resources to spare, then I am out of here. 

Since my dream is only a dream and will probably stay that way, I am content to doing story times.  Candace and I had the pleasure of visiting a first grade class earlier this year.  We talked about our favorite books, what it’s like to work in a bookstore and I read a book to the kids.  Just because we don’t  have as many story times as I'd like, it does not stop me from reading out loud.  Yesterday, I read two F and G’s that a publisher had sent us, to Candace.  (Side note I just googled F and G, since I don’t think I ever knew what it meant.  I’m going with the Folded and Gathered definition, because some of the other ones were not quite right. )  These are not finished books and have not been stapled.  It is not fun when you drop a stack of them as you then have to try to match all of the right parts- just saying. The publisher will send us these F and G’s so we can see if a title is something we want to order for the store. 

My favorite read out loud book at the moment is “The PandaProblem” by Deborah Underwood,  Dial Books.
It starts off with a narrator talking about a panda and the fact that the panda has a problem.  The thing is, the panda doesn’t think there is a problem and starts arguing with the narrator.  The book just gets sillier and sillier and the story spins out of control.  I had a blast reading this out loud and am just itching to read it for a story time.  Some of my favorite books to read out loud are the super silly ones.  You know, the books that are interactive and will have kids giggling and trying to figure out what comes next.  Sometimes, it’s just as fun to read the ones that aren’t quite as silly or playful.  It may be a book about friendship or something so sweet that it’s just what you needed to hear.

 Anyway, this is a very long post to say that something we are going to add to our blog every week is a favorite read aloud title.  

Another topic we’d like to throw on to our blog each week is what’s in our to be read piles?  Each of us here at Vintage has certain interests.  You may have figured this out already, but my sweet spot is picture books.  I also enjoy reading middle grade books.  I do cross the line and read adult books as well.  Right now, I have a middle grade book that Candace handed to me and said that I need to read it because she read the reviews and well, I need to read it.  It is “Breakout” by Kate Messner.  It is sitting in my to be read pile with several other middles grades. I am hoping to get it started tonight.  Becky is reading “Stamped from the Beginning” by Ibram Kendi and the new Maisie Dobbs book.  Candace is reading “Moon over Soho” the third book in a mystery series and “The Princess and the Fangirl” by Ashley Poston. Jeff is in between reads right now, and the other two staff members who are here right now only meow at me.

We seem to have a new trend in our store and among our staff.  Puzzle mania.  We have been ordering and ordering and ordering puzzles over the last month.  When we got in  a shipment last week, I joked that if we lined them up individually they would probably go all the way back to the used kids’ section.  Sadly, no one wanted to test that theory with me.  We are still waiting on our next  puzzle order.  I think it helps that a few of us are really gung ho about putting together puzzles.  Becky and Alec average one 1000 piece puzzle every few days.   

My family tried to put together a 1000 piece, but face a few more challenges than Alec and Becky do.  We did however manage to put two 300 piece puzzles together when we were on spring break, away from said challenges.   I have a video of my other cat who was even more helpful than his mother.  I will try to get it up on our Facebook page.

We have some great puzzles to choose from.  I have one full of  Broadway posters  that would be perfect for girls’ weekend.  Harry Potter fans can choose from a little 100 piece of one picture or a 1000 with several book cover pictures to put together.  I haven’t quite figured out what the draw is.  It’s not very relaxing, especially when you can’t find that one piece that you know is there and darn it why are there 15 other pieces that look just like it?  But, there is something to be said when you put that last piece in- Aha Victory is mine!(with or without an evil laugh)