Today the Burns expert came in for the second time. I presume that in between times he has checked the internet and discovered my prices to be reasonable. He had also put in his bag a book to swop with me for his purchases. Grrr! That won't pay the bills. However, he had chosen enough titles to make it acceptable instead of discount. Whilst he was browsing he also took time to tell me about books I had priced too high and others that were too low in his opinion. It was worth checking out so I did once he had left, but I've stood by my initial decision in all cases. On the whole I was happy to have his opinion. He gave it in a spirit of helpfulness and he does know his Burns literature. He had also known the ex-owner of some of the books, the few remaining from a wonderful collection I got last year after the chap had died.
Customers are almost always worth listening to. Last week a man came in to talk about the cover of a sailing book I had in the window. He knew the photographer, the precise time it was taken (at midnight just off the coast of Norway in the moment that the New Year fires were lit.) He knew the men in the boat silhouetted against the golden rays of the northern midnight sun and a story about one of the hapless sailors who had fallen overboard when he went on deck to have a pee. The story had a happy ending.
Today a lady bought some children's books and told me that her daughter illustrated two of the Brent-Dyer Chalet School copies I have on the shelf.
All these pieces of information make the books feel like living beings.
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