A TRIP TO THE (USED) BOOKSTORE 2/18/22

Many of us wax poetic over small stores and the lack thereof. The corner drugstore has given way to CVS. The barber shop to SportsClips. And of course record stores, bookstores and dvd rentals to Amazon, Amazon and Netflix (not to mention Amazon). If a superstore like Barnes and Noble struggles, then what chance do used bookstores and record stores have? Spoiler alert: a range from very little to none at all. My 30 something daughter, her husband and their baby live in Brooklyn (where else)? And my daughter recently bought a turntable for them to play actual 33 1/3 lps on vinyl at home. I loved it and as chance had it, there was a vintage vinyl store two blocks from their home. After all, it’s Brooklyn. So I went in to buy them a present. I got lost in the racks, remembering all those albums, and album covers, speaking to the owner and just overall having a great time. I must have spent half an hour in there and I was the only customer that entire time. Then I found the the album that started the late, great Janis Joplin and her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Cheap Thrills, with the iconic cartoon cover by R. Crumb. I brought it up to the register and the owner told me it was $3.99. I couldn’t fathom it. I gave him $10 and told him to keep the change. He was beyond grateful. So the question is, if that’s how little they’re selling for, then how much can you reasonably expect to get paid when you’re trying to sell your inventory to them? Second spoiler alert: not much.

Which brought John to this idea of visiting a used bookstore. If you happen to have one in your neighborhood, pay them a visit. They’re wonderful places to hang out. They are definitely not wonderful places to make money. As Al vainly tries to bargain, he also shares his thoughts about how it feels to read biographies of famous pepole in the past. And here’s a third spoiler alert: it doesn’t make him feel accomplished. I agree. I mean when I read the biography of Steve Jobs, the story of how he started Apple, got kicked out and then returned to make it the most profitable company in the world…about how he invented the Mac, the iMac, the iPod, iPad, iPhone, AppleWatch and so on, how am I supposed to feel when I realize my accomplishments spanned the range of dreaming up scenarios of women breaking up with their mops and brooms to working on a twice weekly comic strip? At least John invented the Little Caesars guy with his toga so he has a lasting legacy. Sigh. This is why when I go to the bookstore, I read novels. They’re about made-up people and things, so there’s no way to fall short of them. They’re not real. Except for James Bond.

That’s it for this week and we will see you next week with a new series about…you’ll just have to wait. How’s that for a cliffhanger? Have a great weekend, and think about this: no new comics about football for at least 7 months.

Andy and John