How I Got Started, Where I Want to Go

First of all, a well earned plug - if you haven't read Chris Lowenstein's blog, the Book Hunter's Holiday, you have no idea what you have been missing!! Fortunately, due to the wonders of technology, you can read that blog's archives and get up to speed!! The Book Hunter's Holiday is one of my three or four favorite bookseller blogs. Chris writes in a clear and entertaining way about her adventures (the best of times, the worst of times, and everything in between!) as a bookseller. Check it out!

Now, how I got started into the world of books. I have always been a voracious reader. From grade school until now, my favorite subjects have always been English and Literature. When I was about 11 or 12, I was bitten by the collecting bug. I collected baseball cards, I collected postage stamps, I collected rocks, I collected newspaper clippings of my beloved Boston Celtics....I just loved collecting (Today, they refer to this as my pack-rat tendencies, but I have been much better in recent years.). One day, my father presented me with a gift of "some old books" that were left over from an estate he helped settle (he was a bank Trust Officer). The prize of these books was a three volume set of the Works of Shakespeare (more on those in a future post). To my young eyes, they were beautiful! I was hooked - that's all it took. Without any proper knowledge of the book trade, and having no idea what an antiquarian book was, I started to collect any book that "looked" beautiful.
Over the years I have sold and donated and acquired books informally, and gave a lot away when I moved out of my parent's home. But all of those original books from Dad remain with me today. More recently in my life, I was bitten by another bug - the entrepreneurial bug. Wanting to self employed, and still having a love of books, I have taken a new path in my life. Together with my VERY-soon-to-be-wife Andrea (March 14!!!), and our children, our family business has begun. For now, Literary Musings is operating without a specific focus, just trying to sell whatever we can acquire (new, old, children's books, non-fiction, fiction....) but as we gain more experience and perspective our business plan will evolve as well. I would like to see more antiquarian books in our inventory, but this will take time and patience. Once we have moved out West, I would like to attend the Rare Book School that is offerred in Colorado every year. I would like to eventually have a brick-and-mortar store as well.
I would love to hear from other readers how they got started in their love of books - whether you are a bookdealer, a book collector, or a reader.

Getting married!!

Thought I would just share with you all that Mark and I are getting married on March 14th!! We are having just a small ceremony right now with something bigger in the next few months!! It has taken so long for these stupid divorces to be final that we just want to be married now!! So look for more news about our upcoming event as well as pictures!!! We really should write a book about our relationship and the crazy dips and turns it has taken for us to get to where we are now. We are so in love and look forward to a long and happy life with each other and with our kids!!!

Andrea's obsession with James Patterson

I am a HUGE James Patterson fan and am absolutely DYING to read his new book, 7th Heaven. I am on the waiting list at the library for it right now and it is taking so long!!!! I am proud to say that I turned Mark into a fan as well (although I am the bigger fan) and it is nice that we are able to share a mutual author. Until recently, I had never seen any of the movies that were made from his books and now that I have I hear the voice of Morgan Freeman every time I read a book with Alex Cross in it!!!

Mark is so well read and will read just about anything. I stick mostly to the best sellers and the tried and true authors that I have been reading for years. My mom was actually the one that got me started on James Patterson and also Debbie Macomber. I started her on Nora Roberts and also Karen Robards. Although Nora Roberts can tend to be a bit too sexy for mom's liking. I don't like books written by JD Robb though. I know that they are really written by Roberts but I just don't like the style. I have also been a VC Andrews fan since I was in the junior high and actually used to work with the niece of the ghost writer that writes for her now. I have to say that the Andrews books have taken on quite a few twists and turns that are very unlike her original writings. But hey, if her family approves, who am I to say anything.

I was a pretty nice day here in Mass. Of course family and friends out west had to rub in how nice and warm it has been there lately!!!This is my first year of living in the snow and with any luck, it will be my last!! I have tried really hard to be a good New England wife but I am just not cut out for the snow, slush, rain, ice, etc!! Give me sunshine, glorious sunshine!!!

Off to pain management in the morning. That should be fun. Not really impressed with the healthcare out here in the Boston area but I also was extremely spoiled by the medical providers in California. It is just so hard to retrain new doctors.

Well I'm off to get the little ones ready to settle in for the night. Thanks for reading.