No thanks. I already have a book.

Once Michael Seidenberg had a string of bookstores in New York City. Now, he has a secret one where he sells books by appointment only. But before these businesses, he sold books on the street.

In a recent New Yorker article, Seidenberg recounts a particularly sad sales experience.

"Once, a couple stopped,” he recalled. “And the man asked his girlfriend, ‘Do you want a book?’ She said, ‘No, I already have a book.’”

I had a similar experience once while browsing through books at an antique store in Jeffereson, Texas, where, to my surprise, I found a copy of Tom Sawyer by Samuel Clemens, printed before the author took on the pen name of Mark Twain.

I watched two twenty-something girls run their hands over the spines of other old books.

"So, what kind of book are you looking for?"

"A green one."

God help the writers.

Best,

Karen Harrington
author, Janeology
www.karenharringtonbooks.com