2023 was the year that the Book Shopper blog marked its 500th posting. And in case you missed the celebration; there was no celebration. Admittedly I thought about renting some space and inviting notables who have made tangential cameo appearances throughout the years (Filmmaker James Benning, rapper Killer Mike and author Thomas Chatterton Williams, Book artist Brian Dettmer, essayist David Shields, photographer Emily Berl) and throwing a party on behalf of the blog. I might have called it “Not the Decatur Book Festival Festival.” For now, this remains a fantasy.
The blog premiered on November of 2008 when I reviewed a showing of “Paperback Dreams”, a documentary on the demise of two bookstores in the San Francisco area followed by a panel from the local book selling scene. Ironically, I have been a book seller myself for three years with my book popup Destination: Books. No brick-and-mortar store for me, which was one of the memorable takeaways (financial ruin) from “Paperback Dreams” along what a soulless gorilla Amazon was and still is as a bookseller.
Yet, the blog plods on. In the early years I used to “report” on happenings around the city, but that became tiresome as writer events often become almost cliché. Moreover, the response was underwhelming considering the work I put into it.
However, looking back on the postings about the notables was a fun trip down memory lane and I did learn some things worth sharing. For example, when the poet Billy Collins reminded his readers should not confuse the narrator of his poems with the poet himself. However when my longtime partner Denise and I ran into Collins outside the chapel at Agnes Scott College before showtime, he seemed charming and whimsical like his poems. Another worthy author event featured the historian Rick Atkinson who wrote The Liberation Trilogy. In the Decatur Library Auditorium Atkinson graciously fielded World War II questions from the audience like it was a game show.
Though I continue to march with a one-foot-after-the-other attitude, I have lightened my load by adopting a more wistful format, which I share on a monthly basis. Receiving occasional feedback from you fabled few readers who haven’t unsubscribed me, is always encouraging. But the main motivation of continuing the blog is that it gives me an excuse to generate ideas, to write, knowing I have some hassle-free place to publish it. A few posts have generated other writing ideas and larger essays on other platforms. One of the most notable was The MARTA BOOK CLUB where I listed the books, I witnessed people reading while riding the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit System for 12 years. It spawned my 2016, Down & Outbound: A Mass Transit Satire, (see video trailer) book.
Well, it’s back to work as I compile my Best Books Read List for 2023. Time to get started on that next 100 to make it to the 600th posting, which I will I expect will drop sometime in 2030. Book your party reservations now.