An Old (but happy) Bookstore Memory
Then I remember the first Ulmer record I ever bought: Are You Glad To Be In America? At the time, this was a total crapshoot. Ulmer was a complete unknown to me. But the record cover looked kinda cool and anyway, how can you resist a song title like "Jazz Is the Teacher (Funk Is The Preacher)"? Resistance was futile. Ulmer's music whacked me properly upside the head. Jazz, funk, and I don't know what else. Man, that record was killer.
I bought Are You Glad from the record section of a bookshop in a little strip mall located a few doors down from my first post-college apartment. This was in 1984.
A New (and sad) Bookstore Memory
Many years later, the woman who operated that strip mall bookstore opened a new shop in late 2003 in the downtown area. It was called Blackbird Books. I was overjoyed. Most of the central/southern New Hampshire region is infested with nothing but big-box retail. An independent bookstore brought a much-needed shock of culture to the downtown. Poetry readings, discussion groups, live music...geez, it was great.
Three days ago, the Blackbird mailing listed received an email from owner Maggie indicating that Blackbird will be closing its doors at the end of April. While the downtown restaurant scene had been much revitalized of late, folks just weren't buying enough books. Borders, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com were the bigger (and fatal) draw.
I suppose that most of this isn't particularly remarkable stuff. But what does underscore the amazing brain olympics involved is that fact that my line of musing made it from the act of putting down that copy of Ulysses to thinking about the bookstore closing in about five seconds.
Twenty years distilled down to five seconds...maybe I should read the rest of Ulysses now?
Article comments
1 - Aaron, Duke De Mondo
ha! i'll pick that up then, perhaps. i will actively look it out.
and that aside, this was a great post. i love this kinda reminisence and hometown musings and so on and so fourth. More, sir, more!
2 - Mark Saleski
thanks.
the actual recommendations will come out in part 2.