Bookstore

My mother owned an antiquarian bookstore in Concord, Mass., the famous home of Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott, and Longfellow. Across the street was Woolworths, and close by was The Toy Store, where I had my first job washing the enormous plate glass window and breaking down cardboard boxes for the trip to the dump. My brother, who has the best sense of humor of all of us, used to call my mother’s store when he knew she was working alone and pretend to be a customer looking for an obscure book. Always an actor, he would convince her to go to the shelves several times before he no longer could hold back his laughter. Once she caught on, my mother would exclaim his full name — first, middle, last — and laugh along with him because she loved that he liked to tease her. Books were her passion, but her children’s love was really what made her happy.

From a very young age, I learned from my mother the joy of getting lost in a good book. My kids came to understand early on that I would always fulfill their request to buy books for them. Candy, toys, clothes ... no; books, yes. Trips to the local bookstores were regular pilgrimages for our family. Waiting outside Barnes and Noble for the midnight release of a Harry Potter book remains a favorite memory of mine.

Poly’s book fair sparks memories of bookstores, my mother’s and others that have since closed. Seeing so many families on campus at the opening celebrating family literacy was genuinely inspiring. When given time, our students will read. The literature is clear that if they see the adults in their lives reading, the likelihood that they will read increases exponentially. And that’s the challenge — we must read. Quick snippets of news on our phones will keep us moderately informed and, more often than not, agitated. For our children’s benefit — and I can’t emphasize this enough — we need to find ways to carve out time to read in front of them, with them, and sometimes to them.

I have a bookshelf full of my mother’s most treasured books in our home in Pasadena. They remind me of her insatiable curiosity, her generous spirit, and her desire to help everyone find just the right book. Happy Thanksgiving.

JWB