A Wardrobe Full of Hats.

Hi, I'm Britaini; I'm the owner of an independent book shoppe. This is Britaini; she's my Tech girl. Over here is Britaini; she takes care of billing. That girl waaaaay over there in the corner is Britaini; she does all the ordering. This is Britaini, Human Resources. And Britaini, over there, is in charge of customer relations...

And on and on it goes.

I am not complaining. What I'm doing is marveling at those folks who do exactly what I'm doing at the outset; you know, the start-up people who have no help whatsoever! How, in god's name, do they do it?

I say this because I'm working on fliers for our Open House next month. And I, unfortunately, know next to nothing about computers and all their magical ways. But I figure, the best way to learn is to stumble through it until you figure it out, yeah? So, I sit here thinking, "boo-hoo-hoo" and "I'm an intelligent, independent young woman; I can do whatever I put my mind to", alternately; all the while I'm staring at my volunteer going, "I wouldn't be able to do any of this if it weren't for you!"
So, on the whole, very fortunate (I have a huge support staff; hard working volunteers -a.k.a. book junkies- and awesome customers -a.k.a. ...book junkies-), if only slightly stressed and somewhat prone to brief spells of self pity.

End of spiel. Back to the grind for me.

-Britaini

P.S.
Here's a little funny; I think we can all identify.  
Bernard Does His Taxes

Literature and Life

Evening, Ladies and Gents.

Tonight, I'd like to share with you my vision. 

I have a dream, a richly coloured, coffee and vanilla scented, comfortably furnished, artistically inclined dream.

Our bookstore (because it is ours; yours and mine) will be a haven for literature and its lovers. I see Readers sat in chairs, cup in hand and book across lap. I see children curled up with a pillow on the rug, reading to Mum and Dad. I see Poets contemplating while Romantics sigh. I hear Vivaldi's cello and Mose's fingers dancing across the keys while Sinatra croons. I see people, being.

Literature is more than just words on a page. It's not just stories about life; it's life itself. It's meat and marrow, flesh and blood, and every time I crack a spine, I fall in love all over again.

Share this dream with me. Lets fall in love together; let's fall into a book.

“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” -C.S. Lewis

Peace and happy reading...

-Britaini

Book Clubs... which, incidentally, have quite a lot to do with Photobucket.

This past Monday, my mind was blown as I was expertly introduced to the wonder of Photobucket and Youtube as powerful, online marketing tools.

*angels sing:shock and awe*

Obviously, the awe overshadowed the the lesson as I don't seem to have actually retained anything useful. I'm pretty well left with the glowing certainty that using these two programmes will bring loads of shiny win into my cluttered little world but the shiny is just out of reach as I can't seem to remember how to reach it.

Bugger.

Anyway, all that to say; book clubs will be reappearing this May! There's a poll up on our Facebook page regarding timelines; I would be much obliged if you would pop over and click-clicky . There will be more information very soon; there would be more information right now, in the form of a glistening e-card with a fabulous (yet tastefully understated) slideshow... but my brain's a runny egg, so. *shrugs*

Goodnight, happy reading, best wishes and... all that.

-Britaini

Customer:"Those books, those books there, the leather bound ones..."
Bernard:"Yes, Dickens; the complete works of Charles Dickens."
Customer:"Are they real leather?"
Bernard: (cocks head to one side; stares) "They're real Dickens."

-Black Books

Floating

I am 25 years old, and the owner of an independent book shoppe.

*breath*

I am extremely grateful. 

For those of you who know us ("us" being the BW), you know I'd managed the store for quite a while before the transition to owner. But it's different now; outside the obvious, I have the strangest sensation of floating. Listing, aimlessly. That's not to say I don't have a goal; I do. I have a very clear picture of where I want us to go, where I want us to be, but... it's the getting there that can become a little overwhelming. 

I know what I need; a clear(er) plan. A time-table. I am not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl. While I certainly take things in stride, I need a sense of definition.

So that is my goal, over the next five days. Sit down, sort out, schedule.

For those of you coming from the first blog, you will have no doubt noticed a distinct lack of sarcasm in this post but what can I say? It's twelve in the morning and I'm just, plain tired. I will, however, leave you with a quote I stole from someone famous:

"With all due respect to Lord Byron, there is no such thing as a Romantic Period."

Goodnight...