When I Wasn't Looking - I Got Old!

On the 17th of February my son whacked into a milestone, he's 29 years old. We did what families do for such events - everyone came to dinner, ate too much, sang the happy birthday song, teased him about getting old and had a generally cheerful time.

At some point, it occurred to me that if he's old at 29 ~ which is what everyone kept saying ~ what the heck does that make me?? I hit one of those milestones myself this past September - only problem is, my milestone is quite a bit further along (yes, I'm actually 50!), so I suppose that makes me ancient?

Funny, I don't feel 'old', at least not most of the time. I'm rather enjoying my current age - my kids are mostly grown, I have a wonderful business, free time to spend as I wish, hobbies I enjoy and good health. If this is how it feels to get 'old' then I'm glad I finally got here and I hope the rest of you get to be 'old' too!!

Cheers for us old folks! - Judy

The Woes of Snow - with a Bassett

Unless you live in a cave you've probably heard about the snow we had this weekend. Here in my little town in Virginia it measured about 20" - a ton by anyones standards, except maybe Alaska. We've had a truckload of snow this winter, which normally I don't mind too much. I get more reading done, catch up on chores and projects that I don't normally have time for, that sort of thing.

The worst thing about 20" of snow is that we own a 14" dog. Lucy, our bassett hound, is over 3.5 feet long measured nose to tail but only stands a little over 14" at the top of her back. She weighs about 65 lbs - we consider her to be the platypus of dogs.

She loves the snow - mostly, she loves to eat snow, but snow romping is very high on her list of fun stuff to do. Yesterday morning when we went to look for our cars and driveway, of course Lucy had to 'go' too. It quickly became obvious that Lucy was going to have an issue finding a suitable spot. Within seconds she had completely disappeared, she tried hard to eat her way out but to no avail! So, in addition to shoveling out two cars, 60 ft of driveway, sidewalks and a path to the trash cans we had to shovel out a poo room for the dog! While she whined and bayed instructions and demanded that we hurry!

For those of you who live in the northern climes - you must deal with this every winter - is there an easy solution? are you all up there digging out poo rooms? how do you find your short dogs in over 12" of snow? Send us your winter 'poo' solutions and we'll send you a $5.00 gift card for the store!

I'm going back to reading my book now.

We are Booksellers ~ Oh, the Power!

We sell escapes to great places, far away lands, exotic locales.
We sell encouragement, advice, wisdom, help and instructions.
We sell happiness, laughter, good times and good feelings.
We sell introspection, spirituality, philosophy and visits with God.
We sell death & dismemberment, murder & mayhem, horror & monsters.
We sell space exploration, time travel, aliens and new worlds.
We sell history made and in the making, war and triumph.
We sell romance, love and courtship - human and alien.
We sell thrills, chills and excitement for young and old alike.
We sell what you're looking for.


Visit us - you won't be sorry!

What?! No, we're NOT Barnes & Nobel!

One of our customers asked me if I wanted to be like Barnes & Nobel - I think I might have been insulted. Something I learned a long time ago - don't go where you're not wanted! I have no desire to be one of the 'big box' stores.

What I do want, and have been striving to attain for the last fourteen years is to be exactly what people want in a used bookstore! I think I have it a pretty good idea of what you guys are looking for -

This                                                                                                                            Not this

I'm feeling like we're pretty close to having what you want *big grin!* -- If you need\want anything else you'll let us know, right?

We Love January!

     January at the bookstore is a great month - all the people who got gift cards for Christmas come in to collect their loot. People buying stuff with someone else's money is truly a fun thing to watch!

     January is also our time to make changes to the store - we go through the inventory - clear out the old stuff, rearrange the stuff that needs more (or less!) space, add new stuff and generally check the lay out. I love this part of the job because it makes everything seem new again.

     The other good thing about January, it's when I start to look for new authors to read. I don't want to get stuck in a Reading Rut ~ only reading one or two authors that I love and waiting in frustration for their next book to come out. I read reviews, talk to the customers, listen to the book channel on my XM radio in the car and visit all the bookstores. The goal is to find at least five new authors - these can be authors who have been around a long time or the newbies on the bookshelves.

     So far this year's list is shaping up pretty well -- 

Jenna Blum ~ Those Who Save Us
John Hart ~ The Last Child
David Liss ~  several titles of historical mysteries (I can't wait!)
Nancy Taylor Rosenberg ~ legal thrillers that I love!
Jasper Fforde ~ The Eyre Affair (and other really crazy literary mysteries)
Belva Plain ~ I know, been around forever -- but I've only read one!
Stephanie Laurens ~ historical romances with humor & hunky guys (whew!)

That's a good start don't you think? If anyone has any great ideas or suggestions to add to the list - reply to this post - you should share!

Cheers!

Judy


    

Merry Happy Jolly! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Wow! I spent yesterday holiday shopping with two of my kids. I have to say, anyone who tells you the economy is in the tank and that we aren't spending money hasn't been to a mall in America this week!

It was literally a river of people gliding, rushing and burbling along through the stores. Everyone seemed in good spirits and there were tons of sales. We found some really great deals, Target especially seemed to have lowered prices on an awful lot of stuff - toys, electronics and housewares. It was really pleasant to see so many people smiling and preparing for one of the best holidays we have.

I hope this post finds you all smiling as well - hopefully this holiday season will be one of good cheer and good times with family and friends.

Best Wishes & Cheers!

Judy
Page Master Used Books
www.pagemaster-books.com

Black & Blue Friday

We WILL NOT be opening at 5am Friday (or midnight Thursday!)
We WILL NOT be slashing prices (or anything else for that matter!)
We WILL NOT be holding any kind of door buster event.

But ~

If you need a quiet, relaxing place to catch your breath between the big box stores and the mall mobs - we've got you covered.
The coffee pot is on - and its free. The store looks festive, the shelves are full of great books & movies, the chairs are comfy - and the prices are the best anywhere.

Remember ~ we're a Toys-for-Tots drop off location ~ bring a new, wrapped toy for the box and get 15% off everything you purchase that day.

Sign up the $100 Christmas Gift Basket.

Pick up a Gift Card the readers on your list.

Check out the new jewelry ~ the Lanyards are a great looking gift for anyone who has to wear an I.d. or security badge (teachers, nurses, most office workers etc...) and there are lots of fun earrings and bracelets.

Or ~ maybe you'll just need a little break, come on by and treat yourself! Be safe out there.

Cheers!

Judy
Page Master Used Books