This is new territory for me so please bear with me while I try to navigate this forum.
With all of the stress that 15 years of independent bookselling brought I found myself in a conundrum. I never had time to read and I never had time to write. I would make recommendations for books to fellow readers after reading the blurb on the back, and that just was not right. I was not in the best interest of the author, reader, or myself.
I decided to leave the book business and find a way to engage readers thoroughly in books and book discussion. So, after some deliberation I returned to teaching. Now teaching English affords me the possibilities I was looking for in shared reading experiences, and a way to receive a much needed paycheck.
As a teacher I am able to point students toward independent bookstores so its a win win as far as I can see.
Leaving behind excel spreadsheets that were a necessary tool for moving books from one location to another is a real bonus! Now I read the book, I review the book, and if I think it's fitting I can teach the book.
My hope for this blog is that I can share some of the great books I am reading with you so that you can enjoy them also.
Most recently I have found Douglas Kennedy, Atria, The Pursuit of Happiness and a special relationship to be wonderful page turning reads. I have to say I didn't expect this. But, I found that his prose were paced well and dealt with very dramatic social issues. My review is on the Simon and Schuster blog under authors.
I hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you are reading.
Deb
As it turns out,leaving the book business to teach was a miracle or a blessing or some kind of dharmic intervention.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad who discovered he had metastatic melanoma in September took a turn for the worse the very first day of Christmas Vacation. I was able to go home to be with him and help him and my family through the final two weeks of his life. I was so blessed to be with him and be able to lovingly tell him all of the things that were hard to tell him while he was alive. He was a very stoic man and really didn't want to hear any touchy feely stuff prior to these last two weeks.
Now that it's all over I feel like I have a hole in my heart where his love used to be, but I trust that he is with us all somehow and that we will feel his love soon.
While he was alive Dad was not one to tell you he loved you or give you a hug, in fact I'm not sure if I remember him ever hugging me. He would hug back when we hugged him and he hugged his grandchildren. But, he loved us by taking care of us, by sticking with us through thick and thin, by loving our children, and so many other ways.
I guess the moral of my story would be that if you feel the urgent need to switch careers, do it, it may be for reasons you can't yet fathom.
Deb