And there is change

With a traveling bookstore, there’s always change. It might seem after a long enough period of time, certain changes become the norm, and this shifts the sense of change to the sense of normalcy. Like the books I have on the shelves are constantly changing, but after ten years in the business, I assume there are always books on the shelves and they are books you’ll want to read. With the traveling aspect of the bookstore, there are always going to be different places. Last week Sacramento (California), and this coming weekend Portland (Oregon). The bookstore has set up in South Dakota and in Mississippi, in Nebraska and in Arkansas, in Baltimore and in Seattle. Different places, yet the traveling is a constant. Sort of.

This bookstore tour has been different because the van broke down. Now that happened before but it was a more singular experience. It broke down in April 2023, was repaired and then continued for a year. Then there was a small fuel leak in April 2024 before I left home which was fixed, and I assumed it would be a repeat of last year’s experience where once repaired, I’d go on for another year or so.

Except on this tour, that isn’t what happened. The van was repaired in Eureka (Montana), then had to be towed to a mechanic’s while in Boise (Idaho), fixed, and then towed again in Dixon (California). I realized this change required a change from me. And that was a good reminder, although a hard one. Because we are surrounded by changes whether the climate or what’s happening in government or people in our lives (babies born, daughter going off to college, a neighbor moving, a friend dying). Some changes we welcome, some we try to ignore, and some we actively fight. Some changes are certainly easier than others. Some are truly hard.

I wanted to think changing from one van to another couldn’t be that hard. I mean deciding on what kind of van took some effort, but then I found one (thanks to Ron DuPratt Ford in Dixon for having it on their lot, ready to roll). But then realized the lovely shelves in the old van wouldn’t fit in the new one which has different dimensions. And what to do with everything in the old van because there I was in Dixon, California and still had bookstore gigs in Port Orford (Oregon), Portland (Oregon) and Libby (Montana) before getting home where the Master Shelf Maker could build new shelves. Lots of changes – some remarkably easy and some painful.

Fortunately during this period, I was reading a collection of essays by Brian Doyle, One Long River of Song. That man’s writing is so smooth, so clear, so deep. I marvel at his language and ideas. I cry at the places he takes this reader. I mourn we lost him too soon, and I am thankful his writing was published. Between getting everything moved from one van to another, arranging to have shelves built, logos put on the sides of the van, getting insurance and wondering how to set up in Port Orford, Portland and Libby without a bookstore that customers can enter, but a van that is a lake of boxes, bags and a general mess of books, there were a lot of changes going on. But Brian Doyle’s writing was a constant, a golden constant that made those moments when I sat reading, a refreshing moment, a nourishing moment.

I hope you have books in your life like this one, because no doubt you are dealing with your own set of challenging changes. Reading the right book at the right time is therapeutic.

Of course it is about stories

Driving around the US with a van full of books acknowledges the value of stories. All those volumes in the traveling bookstore, all those stories waiting to be shared. There are also stories from people I cross paths with on these trips and their stories. Telling me about their place, about their travels, about children, about grandparents. There are brief stories when I stand with someone by the bookstore. A woman tells me how she has a camper van so she can visit all sorts of festivals now that she is retired. A young man wants to buy a book for his new-born nephew because he really wants the nephew to experience the joy of books. A man at dinner wants to hear traveling bookstore stories. The mechanic offers me the story of how he came to be a witness for Jesus. The place I stayed the first day on the road this trip has stories going back thousands of years, and stories that were written down more recently.

This is our history. Whether it comes between two covers with an ISBN, or whether a friend tells you over morning coffee what her life was like fortysome years ago. Stories shape who we are. When a young woman visiting the bookstore tells me about the novel, The Nix (2016) by Nathan Hill that she feels I definitely must read, or someone asks if I have a copy of “The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (1992) by Julia Cameron – these stories shape their lives as well as mine. Our stories intersect. We talk about mothers, we talk about art, we talk about someone they know in Reno because they see that’s a stop on this bookstore tour.

When someone you haven’t seen in decades, reappears in your life, stories of those other times come rushing back. Forgotten stories come to the surface, like bubbles from the ocean depths. And those stories that come to us in dreams and we wonder where those stories are from? Or stories someone tells us that seem unbelievable? Was that a story from their dream? Or a story shaped by their pain? Or a story created to sow seeds of discontent? Regardless of a story’s genesis, it has power. I sometimes feel the bookstore glowing with the power of the stories it contains.

And those conflicting stories? No, it didn’t happen like that – it happened an entirely different way, don’t you remember? There are stories we doubt. Stories we will fight for. Stories we scream are lies.

What a way to start a Monday morning in Boise, Idaho. Thinking about stories – the amazing variety, the people who write them, the skilled storytellers, the wonder of all the stories that shape our lives. If you happen to see this and you are in the Boise area, stop by to share some of your stories with me. The traveling bookstore sets up today (4/22) at Westside Drive In at Parkcenter, and tomorrow at Mother Earth Tap Room.

It started with a book

Book bench by Sarah Anderson featuring works by Montana authors

Anthony Doerr, author of All the Light We Cannot See and Cloud Cuckoo Land, is an author I enjoy reading. Actually it is in a realm beyond just enjoy. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise when a book of his short stories (Memory Wall) that recently came into my life, completely ensnared me. One of those reads that even when I’m not reading, the words, the story(s) rumble about in my head. And then I remembered Doerr is from the Boise area which is on my list for the upcoming Spring 2024 Bookstore Tour! Feels like a treat to visit his town, like a surprise stop for ice cream when driving on a hot summer’s day.

I realized this is yet another advantage of a traveling bookstore. Of course, brick-and-mortar bookstores invite authors in for readings. Announcements of all sorts of wonderful events are put out on social media from Red Emma’s Bookstore, Auntie’s Bookstore and others. Big metropolitan bookstores like Powell’s Books and Strand Books have author readings nearly every day! That must certainly be a wonder to host authors for readings or to hear them answer questions in person about their writing. But I like to think being in an author’s home town is also quite special, to get a sense of the air, the buildings, the trees, the sidewalks, the vibes that are part of their daily life, that shape their writing.

The first stop on this upcoming traveling bookstore tour is Missoula, Montana where Debra Magpie Earling lives and whose books, Perma Red and The Lost Journals of Sacajewea are remarkable, both reaching deep into your heart and soul. And then there’s a stop in Salt Lake City for a couple days, the home of Terry Tempest Williams, author of Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place among her other books urging us to seriously consider our place, and this planet. Another stop on this tour is the Bay area. San Francisco is home to Rebecca Solnit. There are too many of her books to list but I’ll mention A Field Guide to Getting Lost (an ideal one for a traveler), Men Explain Things to Me, and her wonderful atlases. Obviously having a traveling bookstore lets me be a fangirl, drinking up experiences in places some of my favorite authors call home.

One more week and the spring tour begins! Still trying to squeeze more books into the van. Still trying to predict the weather assuming it will be different between Salt Lake City (altitude 4,300ft/1300m) and Port Orford, Oregon (altitude 43ft/13m). And what to bring besides books and bookstore accoutrements? Certainly the typewriter. All the stops on this tour are special in their own way, but the one in Berkeley holds promise for community art making. The traveling bookstore will collaborate with Collab Art Lab, a Berkeley Commonplace program, developed by artist C.K.Itamura. This collaboration is part of the Travelogues Project which is very much a hands-on event happening May 4 from 11am – 5pm in conjunction with the opening of the Round Table Collaboration Postal Collage Project No.13 exhibition at the Berkeley Art Center. If you happen to be in the Bay area that weekend, stop by Live Oak Park in Berkeley (across from the Berkeley Art Center) to make books, talk books, and maybe buy a book or two. We can also talk about place and authors and travel. Another stop on a traveling bookstore adventure.

A bushel and a peck

Thinking about children today as I stuff the lower shelves in the traveling bookstore with picture books and chapter books. I decide how many extra boxes of children’s books I should try to fit in the back storage of the bookstore. I think about an interview I did with Canvas Rebel recently and at one point trying to explain children’s reactions to the traveling bookstore compared to adults’. Although some adults step right into the bookstore, many hesitate as though they need an invitation. Countless times I say (again), “Please go in. It’s a bookstore.” Children typically throw themselves into the bookstore, grab a book and settle down. I think about Ukrainian children who have had their schools bombed. Think about children in Gaza who are hungry, who are maimed, who are without a home, who are dead. And with all this thinking, ponder the role of a traveling bookstore owner.

Recently read Lyn Slater‘s “How to be Old.” In one chapter, she describes her process for starting a blog and over the years, shaping that blog in a way that can be compared to shaping her wardrobe, taking stock of who she is and who she wants to be. What words, what colors, what fabrics convey all of this because obviously, for any of us, it is a lot to convey. And I reflected on my own blog and where it started: May 31, 2015 with a photo of brand spanking new shelves that had just been built, sitting empty, waiting with so much book potential, waiting to cross so many miles. And a bit like Lyn Slater, both the bookstore and I have changed our styles over the past decade. I tried to capture the bookstore’s changes in that Canvas Rebel interview. From the first year driving around the rural county where I live, tentatively asking to set up here or there. And now after setting up in so many places in so many states, feel emboldened to ask just about anyone if I can pull into their parking lot, festival, loading zone, college campus to peddle great used books.

And me? I’ve changed. My hair longer in messy space buns or braids. Shifted from clogs to Merrells. Doing some letterpress printing using a Provisional Press, something I learned about when I set up the bookstore at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art a few years back. And now, when I’m not on the road, I print posters I put up around my town. Had a show recently at the local post office where two were removed after complaints about their words (one about guns, the other about Gaza). I’m speaking up more. I strive to find that balance of speaking my truth and being civil, listening to others while not letting them speak over me.

So yes, the bookstore will be setting up in Missoula at Western Cider in less than two weeks. First gig on a month’s tour. Hope to catch you when I’m on the road.

• April 20 at Western Cider (Missoula, MT) noon – 5pm
• April 22 at Westside Drive In (Parkcenter Blvd. Boise, ID) 11am – 4pm
• April 23 at Mother Earth Tap Room (Boise, ID) 2pm – 7pm
• April 25 at Jim Dandy Brew (Pocatello, ID) 3pm – 7pm
• April 27 at King’s English Bookshop (Salt Lake City, UT) 10am – 6pm
• April 28 at King’s English Bookshop (Salt Lake City, UT) 10am – 5pm
• April 30 at The Depot (Reno, NV) 3pm – 8pm
• May 2 at Temple Coffee Roasters (H St. Sacramento, CA) 7am – 10am
• May 2 at King Cong Brewing (Sacramento, CA) 4pm – 7pm
• May 4 at Collab Arts Lab at Live Oak Park near Berkeley Art Center (Berkeley, CA) 11am – 5pm
• May 7 at Booklegger (Eureka, CA) 10am – 1pm
• May 7 at The Sanctuary (Arcata, CA) 6pm – 8pm
• May 9 at Port Orford Library (Port Orford, OR) 10am – 3pm
• May 10 at Mr. Ed’s Espresso, Juice and Underground Pub (Port Orford, OR) noon – 5pm
• May 12 at Extracto Coffee (Portland, OR) 7am – 2pm
• May 13 at Cathedral Coffee (Portland, OR) 7am – 2pm
• May 16 at Farmers Market in Libby (Libby, MT) 3pm – 6:30pm

Hope springs eternal

The thought of hope springing eternal came to mind. Why? Perhaps it was a conversation about the state of the world I had with a friend who stopped by earlier in the day. Or perhaps it was the latest snow storm that blew in. Curious where the phrase came from, I discovered it was Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744) in his “Essay on Man.” Thank you very much, Project Gutenberg.

I tend to be optimistic. I want to believe possibilities open up if one tries hard enough. Of course, there are umpteen variables that are part of that overly broad statement including having the resources to keep trying, having support, being in a situation that offers possibilities. Putting together the upcoming traveling bookstore Spring 2024 tour, there were moments of doubt and then things started coming together. Would I find accommodations in Boise? Yes, a friend of a friend offered her place. Are there any legal parking spaces for a pop-up bookstore in the Bay area? I had seriously begun to wonder about this when C.K.Itamura with Berkeley Commonplace had the perfect suggestion.

And then there is the question that I hear frequently. Are people still reading? Isn’t everyone just scrolling on devices catching images and memes? Recently came upon an article about how reading is good for you (which, of course, I already knew) and that it may be linked to mental acuity as we age. There is still more for folks to investigate about this but in the meantime, I’m going to anticipate people searching for enticing materials to read. Perhaps more individuals will adopt the belief that reading is both good and good for you (sort of like chocolate). I also decided rather than trying to restrain myself from gushing about my latest can’t-put-it-down book to friends, I should be telling them all about it so they might just get suckered into reading.

Very soon I’ll have all the dates/places/times set for the Spring 2024 bookstore tour posted. Look forward to getting the word out and connecting with readers (doing sixteen gigs!!). Look forward to discussing the state of the world and what each of us can be doing. Look forward to hearing your ideas.

Recent reads (sorry for lack of nonfiction in this round, will do better next time):

Butterflies in November by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

The Illiad by Emily Wilson

I Saw the Sky Catch Fire by T. Obinkaram Echewa

The Double by José Saramago

Book Support

The last Saturday in April, April 27 this year, is Indie Bookstore Day! Not only is it a wonderful day for you to support any independent bookstore you happen to be near, but it’s when this traveling bookstore sets up at King’s English Bookstore in Salt Lake City. Two independent bookstores next to each other that weekend will give you twice the pleasure of perusing shelves! I started thinking about it today even though April is still a ways off, because of the value of independent bookstores. A new large chain bookstore opened in a town near where I live. People are excited because there is a huge building filled with books – and what’s not to like about books? But what about the small, non-chain bookstores that have been in that town for years? The ones that donate to local nonprofits? The ones that do special orders for you? The ones who have staff willing to seriously talk with you about books? Thinking about this, I remembered Danny Caine (Raven Bookstore) and his letter to Jeff Besos.

Another thing about independent bookstores is their careful consideration of which books to offer. I really could fill pages and pages with bookstores I’ve visited that have incredible selections. They don’t carry as many books as the big box stores, but their selections let you see the thought the owners put in when deciding which books to carry. Broadway Books in Portland, OR comes to mind as does Mahogany Books in Washington DC, Librairie les Insolites in Tangier, The Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore, Bonner’s Books in Bonners Ferry, ID. Not only do these bookstores and so many others like them have owners who carefully decide which books to carry, not as an economic decision (which books will sell the quickest), they want to offer you quality reads. Which books do they enjoy reading that they want to share with you.

And then there are conversations! Because independent bookstores usually have individuals working there who like books. They want to talk with you about what they’ve been reading, and really listen to you as you tell them about your latest read or trip or community concern. Conversations happen in bookstores and that is wonderful. In Casablanca, I had the good fortune to discover Librairie Les Carrefour des Livres and Mariam. There was so much to discuss my first time in that bookstore, I went back again a few days later. Our conversations were about books (Moroccan authors and books in translation), politics, travel, social justice and art. I learned a lot and I bought a few books.

I assume if you are reading this that you appreciate the value of independent bookstores. Perhaps the next time you go to one of you own favorite bookstores, you can take a friend or two along. Share that joy of wandering through the aisles in a place that does more than simply try to sell you things, a place that offers you ideas, conversations, new ways of seeing. Thank you.

Never Too Soon

Yes indeedy, the weather last week in Montana was tough with temperatures down to -35°F/-37°C, and a fair amount of snow. It was the ideal weather for this bookstore owner and voracious reader to stay inside reading and to start working on the Spring 2024 Bookstore Tour. Those of you who have been following these adventures for a while, know the drill. Line out which cities and towns to visit which all need to be within a comfortable driving distance from each other, then find ideal places (safe and legal) where the bookstore can set up, and once that is all in place, somewhere I can stay for the nights I’m in those towns.

I always get excited about a tour the moment I begin putting it together which is very good because otherwise I’d have to find another line of work. This upcoming tour starts out April 19th, then setting up in Missoula, MT (4/20), on to Idaho, Utah, Nevada, California and Oregon, finally looping back up to Montana, finishing at the Libby, MT farmers market in mid May which will be in full swing by then and is one of my favorite farmers markets. It does sound exciting, doesn’t it? As I start sending out emails and making phone calls, exploring places online, reaching out to friends, friends of friends and families of friends to help, there seem to be countless possibilities. A tour like this gives me opportunities to visit places I’ve set up before and thoroughly enjoy like King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City, Temple Coffee in Sacramento, and the public library in Port Orford. Of course, bookstore tours like this also give me a chance to reconnect with good friends along the way.

And setting up a long distance traveling bookstore tour, encourages me to try new places and meet new people. This tour has stops in Boise, ID and Reno, NV – both cities where the bookstore has never set up before – where I need to find places to accommodate a pop up bookstore business and also people willing to host me. There are towns like Missoula and San Francisco where the bookstore has been before but the venues where I’ve set up aren’t options for this particular tour, so it is a bit like starting from scratch. Some days doing this feel like a BINGO game as I color the dates green once I have them lined up. There is that encouraging visual image that eventually I will have the whole tour in green and be ready!! Other days it’s like working on a jigsaw puzzle, the kind you wish your friend hadn’t given you as a gift. More frustration than joy. But as it is only January now and I have until mid April to back the bookstore out of the driveway and hit the road, there is time. After ten years of doing this business, I remain optimistic Boise, Missoula, Reno and San Francisco will fall into place. 

As part of this tour, I’ve been in contact with the owner of Portneuf Valley Brewery in Pocatello. I set up there once before and so enjoyed it – the town, the brew pub, the conversations – that I put it on the list for this tour as well. When I reached out to Penny who owns Portneuf Valley Brewery, it seems the brewery is temporarily closed as she mulls over what she wants to do with it going forward. That turned out to be a very good conversation to have as we are both individuals who like to line things up and get impatient when details aren’t tidy. An excellent reminder the process is as important as the destination. Will certainly keep you posted as the remaining pieces fall into place. And please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have thoughts about Missoula, Boise or Reno.

Other venues confirmed at the moment include King Cong Brewing (Sacramento), Mr Ed’s Underground Pub (Port Orford) and Extracto Coffee Roasters (Portland).

Reading

Some years back, a family invited the traveling bookstore to set up at their daughter’s 8th birthday party. The mom said she would pay for each child attending the party to get one book. I explained kids’ books cost a dollar each so it would be very affordable. There were about ten children at the party. Of course, it is always a treat to see young people enthused about books, pulling them off the shelves in excitement, showing them to each other, trying to decide which would be their favorite to take home. One boy spent a lot of time in the bookstore and when he came out, he didn’t have a children’s book in hand, but an adult travel guide to China. The mom and I were curious why he had selected that particular one, and he explained he hoped to visit China when he got older and this particular book would help him get ready for that trip. 

I could give you so many stories about young readers who visit the traveling bookstore and the particular books they choose. A different city, a different day, another very young child pulled an adult novel off the shelf and told her dad that is the one she wanted. He pointed out she certainly wasn’t able to read a book like that. Her answer? “Someday I will.”

Don’t we see value in children learning to read? In children enthused about books? Schools and libraries put so much energy into nurturing a love of reading in the young. Books take children to new places, give them ideas, encourage them to learn new words, experiment with language, see things from different perspectives. So it is heart-breaking when I read about individuals who try to limit what children can read. Scenes from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 flash in my head, as well as images from the 1933 book burning in Germany. If you can, please encourage your local school board, your public library and bookstores to stand strong against censorship.

Books currently on my table:

The House on Butterfly Street by Mhani Alaoui

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

Alya and the Three Cats by Amina Alaoui Hachimi and Maya Fidawi

The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting