Harry Potter and the gift from grandma
Back in my bookstore days, it wasn't uncommon for family members to request books. When my cousin wrote her book while she was in high school--which, oddly enough, I was thinking about this morning--my grandfather asked me to order him some copies. I ordered four total, one for me, one for him, and two for him to send to his brother's daughters. I don't know how many copies of her book ever sold, but I know my bookstore sold four of them. Pretty impressive since it was never stocked on the shelves. Believe me, we had plenty of titles that never ever sold and just sat there for years.
Probably the biggest series during my bookselling days was Harry Potter. No other series garnered such hoopla. Even my little store, in a dying mall, still had release parties. I have pictures of one that we did, probably around book 5 or 6. Some of my coworkers dressed up, and we had almost a book fort in the front corner. I know I took pictures because it was that fun. My grandma jumped on the bandwagon and, when a new one would come out, she'd ask me to buy it for her. I'd happily oblige, since I got a discount.
Once grandma started going through her stuff and paring things down, she asked if I wanted those books. When I said yes, she told me she'd give them to me the next time we saw each other. That was several years ago. More often than not, she'd come over here, and some of those books are pretty heavy, and either she couldn't carry them, or else she simply forgot. That's kind of her MO. And the last couple times I was over there, I barely went into the building, much less up to her place. And giving me those books was not on her mind. That last visit, she just wanted her Thanksgiving leftovers, heh.
Mom went over there today. She'd gotten grandma a new Brita pitcher and had a bathing suit she wanted grandma to try prior to the trip they're taking at the end of the month. Grandma also needed assistance with some things; it mainly sounded like stuff needed batteries changed, but grandma thought they were flat-out broken. Well, mom's a miracle worker: She can replace batteries and things then work again. Apparently grandma kept laughing at mom because grandma would hand her something and say it was broken, mom would be like, did you replace the batteries? And when mom would do that for her, voilà, the item magically worked again. Now if only mom could do that with her own stuff.
When I got home today, there was a bag on my chair in the kitchen. Uh, what's this? When I looked inside, I realized right away; there were five books in the bag, and some of them were thick-looking. The colorful dust jackets looked familiar, and sure enough, I'd finally acquired the Harry Potter books. However, again, there were just five of them. I know I didn't buy her book 7 because my store had closed a few months earlier. As for book 1, I couldn't tell you. Maybe she sold it or gave it away. It's entirely possible I never bought that one for her, but I got at least the last few up through 6. I've honestly wondered about them, if she still had the books, if she'd given them away or sold them. Sure enough, one of the books appears to have a price sticker on it, like she'd tried to sell it at her senior center sales. Well, I now have a couple books to look for the next time I find myself at a used book sale. I'd specifically want them in hardcover.
Probably the biggest series during my bookselling days was Harry Potter. No other series garnered such hoopla. Even my little store, in a dying mall, still had release parties. I have pictures of one that we did, probably around book 5 or 6. Some of my coworkers dressed up, and we had almost a book fort in the front corner. I know I took pictures because it was that fun. My grandma jumped on the bandwagon and, when a new one would come out, she'd ask me to buy it for her. I'd happily oblige, since I got a discount.
Once grandma started going through her stuff and paring things down, she asked if I wanted those books. When I said yes, she told me she'd give them to me the next time we saw each other. That was several years ago. More often than not, she'd come over here, and some of those books are pretty heavy, and either she couldn't carry them, or else she simply forgot. That's kind of her MO. And the last couple times I was over there, I barely went into the building, much less up to her place. And giving me those books was not on her mind. That last visit, she just wanted her Thanksgiving leftovers, heh.
Mom went over there today. She'd gotten grandma a new Brita pitcher and had a bathing suit she wanted grandma to try prior to the trip they're taking at the end of the month. Grandma also needed assistance with some things; it mainly sounded like stuff needed batteries changed, but grandma thought they were flat-out broken. Well, mom's a miracle worker: She can replace batteries and things then work again. Apparently grandma kept laughing at mom because grandma would hand her something and say it was broken, mom would be like, did you replace the batteries? And when mom would do that for her, voilà, the item magically worked again. Now if only mom could do that with her own stuff.
When I got home today, there was a bag on my chair in the kitchen. Uh, what's this? When I looked inside, I realized right away; there were five books in the bag, and some of them were thick-looking. The colorful dust jackets looked familiar, and sure enough, I'd finally acquired the Harry Potter books. However, again, there were just five of them. I know I didn't buy her book 7 because my store had closed a few months earlier. As for book 1, I couldn't tell you. Maybe she sold it or gave it away. It's entirely possible I never bought that one for her, but I got at least the last few up through 6. I've honestly wondered about them, if she still had the books, if she'd given them away or sold them. Sure enough, one of the books appears to have a price sticker on it, like she'd tried to sell it at her senior center sales. Well, I now have a couple books to look for the next time I find myself at a used book sale. I'd specifically want them in hardcover.