Phil Strobe

As you know, Phil Strobe is a pen name, and in my mundane life--aside for the undeniable and enviable glamor of being a self-published author of 2 very short e-books--I'm just this guy, you know?

Among my day-to-day characteristics is my job at a bookstore, recently acquired. Much of my working life has been working the retail book biz, so this new job is a pretty good fit for my skills and temperament. In the popular imagination, working in a bookstore is often like this:

Which is to say, somewhat romantic in an old-timey way, surrounded by the thoughts and tales of our shared humanity in a cozy space amid people with similar passion for various traditions in human expression. But that there's a sense that maybe bookstores are a refined taste, and one where maybe there aren't very many people every second. And to a degree popular imagination is accurate.

But, of course, there's more to it. Bookstores are businesses, so some percentage of what sells might not me the most elevated thoughts for the ages. Which is OK, but not very romantic.

There's another aspect, too. Much of my actual job is ordering books. And that's an office droney sort of job, if you let it be. Much like any other job can be. A lot of my actual retail book biz experience is ordering books, so this, too is a good fit for my experience and temperament. So, while I get my fair share of the romance of the bookseller lifestyle, I also get my fair share of cardboard boxes covered in the grit of transcontinental OTR transit, phone calls to vendors and their phone trees and hold music, and urgent requests for books suitable for tomorrow's event. All of which is romantic in its own Water Mitty way, but not in the soul-branded-by-communion-with-Great-Minds sort of way.

On May 2nd, my place of employ, a small independent bookstore in a small town, will celebrate Independent Bookstore day. This year we'll also be celebrating the new owners of the store. The store has now had 3 owners in the last 40 or so years. The new owners are a group of local people who came together to keep the local bookstore open. 

Odds are pretty good that there's an independent bookstore somewhere near you, too. Why not take a moment, stop in, and buy a book? If you don't need it, give it to someone who does. Maybe a child you know, or a teacher at the nearby highschool. If you have a faith community, someone there will certainly know someone who needs a book. Give it away. You'll be doing someone a solid, you will be supporting your neighbors and your town in one of the best ways possible, and I think it will make you feel a little bit better about a lot of things. Share a story about your favorite bookstore in the comments.

So that's a pretty heady end to a post about something I do when I'm not writing. As a reward for making it to the end, here's a video about stars for your weekend viewing.



Huelux from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.