The Diary Of A Bookseller

Shaun Bythell is the owner of a used book store in a seaside town in rural Scotland. He wrote The Diary Of A Bookseller over 14 months. Each month is a chapter. The beginning of each chapter begins with a quote from George Orwell who wrote a book about being a bookseller. Then he writes down the total number of customers he had each day and how much money he took in. After that he writes about his customers and what they buy or don't buy. He also writes about the customers who bring in boxes of books to sell to him. The love he has for books in very evident. He writes about his employees including one who seldom does what he asks her to do. Besides the books he also sells walking sticks that a pagan hippie brings in periodically in exchange for books. He sells a few pieces of furniture as well. The author hilariously recounts his rudest customers and his escapades with his friends and family. In the epilogue he reveals that he still owns the bookstore. I think it would be a fun place to visit if I ever get to Scotland.

The Woman In The Library

The Woman In The Library was written by Sulari Gentill. This book has a very unconventional writing style. Half of the story is about 4 aspiring writers who meet at the Boston Library. They hear a woman scream. Later that woman is found dead in the library. The police investigate and interview the four writers. This experience draws them into a friendship. The other half of the story is told by the email responses a writer gets from a guy named Leo who is critiquing her work. He gives her suggestions on how ti improve her story. He insists she add Covid to the story. For most of the story the blame for the woman's murder in the library rests on one character. I enjoyed reading the story within a story once I got used to it. 

The Sandcastle Girls

 Chris Bohjalian is the author of The Sandcastle Girls, a family novel about the Armenian genocide. The story starts in Aleppo, Syria, in the 1915. A young woman recently graduated from college, comes to Aleppo with her father to help the victims from Armenia. She volunteers at the hospital. She brings an Armenian woman and child to live in her house with the embassy assistant. Her name is Elizabeth Endicott and she is with a Boston based organization called Friends Of Armenia. She brings food and medical supplies. There she meets an Armenian engineer named Armen. They fall in love and continue to write letters as he joins the British army to fight in Egypt. One hundred years later, one of their granddaughters finds a picture of them on display in Boston about the Armenian genocide. She writes their story using correspondence to and from them at the Friends Of Armenia center. I don't believe I ever learned about the Armenian genocide in any history lessons I attended. In some places it is forbidden to mention it. I preferred the parts of the book that took place in Aleppo over the parts that took place in Boston and New York.

Watkins

Today I was exploring the town and I decided to visit the Watkins museum and store. This is the chair of the first company president. He bought a patent for a liniment while he lived in Plainview, MN. He took his liniment to Winona where he made more medical products. Later he made vanilla extract and started selling spices.

They are still coming up with new products. Recently they started selling various meat rubs for BBQ and aromatic bitters for fancy cocktails.

 

Swede Hollow

A book showed up on my Libby app so I checked out Swede Hollow by Ola Larsmo and translated into English by Tiina Nunnally. The story is about the people who emigrated from Sweden and settled in a ravine formed by Phalen Creek just north of Seventh Street. The main family in the story arrived at Ellis Island in 1897. After trying to make it work in New York City, they come by train to Saint Paul where they meet other Swedish immigrants they met on the boat coming over. Gustaf and Anna Klav arrive after midnight on a cold winter night. The train depot is closed until morning. They happen to spot a couple of Irish lads who were also on their boat. The Irish lads live further upstream in Swede Hollow and they lead the family to the Swedish section. Much is said about the beautiful grounds and mansion where the Hamm family live. Their property is guarded by German Shepherds. The Hamms brewery will only hire people of German descent. I found the story of Gustaf and Anna, their three children, and their many grandchildren was fascinating. Life is so much easier now than it was then.

They're Out To Get Me

 Today I was walking around a lake. The walk is 3.7 miles and I walked it a few days ago. This time I went counter clockwise which put me closer to the water. As I walked by a stretch of water that had taller trees right next to the trail I noticed a bird was following my head. I could see it's shadow on the sidewalk right above my hat. This happened the other day too. Later, as I approached the fishing dock, another red winged blackbird flew at my head and struck me twice. Aw, man, they are out to get me. Other people are walking on this path on foot or biking. I didn't see any birds attacking them. A couple of years ago we were visiting Old Montreal. Offspring #2 parked the car and I got out. Even though we were not near water, a male red winged blackbird struck me in the back of my head twice. I was in the process of putting on my sun hat and that really hurt. Today didn't hurt as much because I had my sun hat on. I guess they're out to get me. With their red epaulets they look militaristic.

The Family Gene

 Joselin Linder is the author of The Family Gene: A Mission To Turn My Deadly Inheritance Into A Hopeful Future. This is a true story about her health. Beginning in her 20's Joselin experienced swelling in her ankles. Her father, a physician in Ohio and a very healthy man, also had the same issue. Gradually they came to realize that a great uncle and a great grandmother also had the same issue which stems from a blockage in her liver. Joselin and other members of her family visited a geneticist at Harvard. Fourteen members of her family had a private gene mutation. There is no cure for this genetic mutation but some symptoms can be relieved. Her story was interesting. I don't agree with all the choices she made. Grief comes in many forms I guess.