Convos Behind the Counter: Vol. 3
What We’re Talking About
A Serendipitous Accidental Order
Dog-Eared Books is about 2,700 square feet and we carry approximately 8,000 unique titles and 13,000 total books at any given moment, but our customers’ interests range far beyond the capacity of our building or our particular curation. Which is why we delight in ordering in unique titles for our curious and enthusiastic readers every single day..
We order in titles old, obscure, or very specific. If enough people request orders for the same title in a short period of time, we’ll very likely start carrying that title regularly, because we’ve learned that it’s caught the attention of our customer base.
But most “special” orders only pass through our store once — unless, of course, Ellyn or I make a mistake.
Here’s a little behind-the-counter information for you. Every morning, one of us sits down to a report listing all of the books sold the previous day. Book by book, we go through that list, ordering additional copies, or sidelining particular titles we know were only ordered in for a particular customer. But if we haven’t had our coffee yet, or someone hasn’t taken their daily dose of “brain medicine” (read: ADHD prescription meds), a title MIGHT be reordered accidentally.
Check out this title:
What do YOU think happened? First off, one of our lovely customers is going to be spending time in Maine, and they have a very comprehensive, up-to-date (2022 publication), PHYSICAL map of the entire state.
As for Dog-Eared Books, thanks to the mis-keying of either Amanda or Ellyn (she-who-will-not-be-named), we have the very product we needed to identify where the real-life events happened that inspired one of our very favorite picture books of the year.
Big Truck, Little Island by Chris Van Dusen is a story about a big truck pulled to a small island by a steamboat and, once offloaded at the dock, it sets off to carry its mysterious load to the far side of the island. Halfway there, the truck gets stuck, bringing the entire island to a standstill. How will Meg get to her swim meet? How will Barry get to ballet class? The stranded kids put their heads together and decide to swap cars for the day, illustrating trust, teamwork, and sense of community.
In the author note’s at the back of the book, Van Dusen writes that the story was inspired by a true event that was related to him by friends. Back in 2009/2010 a major wind-energy project was underway on the island of Vinalhaven, just off the Mid-Coast of Maine, and viewable from Van Dusen’s hometown of Camden, Maine. A big rig hauling a wind turbine blade jack-knifed and blocked one of the island’s major transportation arteries.
“It was the way the islanders resolved the problem that I found so remarkable,” he wrote. “They did exactly what’s described in this book: they swapped cars with their friends and completed their journeys. Some even made it home before their ice cream melted! Later, after the big rig had been cleared and the road was once again opened, all of the people involved returned the cars to their original owners … I can’t think of a better example of problem solving and cooperation than what took place that day on Vinalhaven.”
So when this very specific map ended up back at the store again, I popped it open to locate Vinalhaven, out of curiosity. And wouldn’t you know, the book naturally opened to the exact page of interest (the way some books do if they’ve been laid face down, open to a particular page).
There’s the island of Vinalhaven, in the Gulf of Maine, on Map 9. Turn to Map 14 and you’ll find Van Dusen’s hometown of Camden, with Vinalhaven Island just off the coast to the southeast.
As for the book, it will likely make its way back to our book distributor at some point, although I have been meaning to take a family trip to Acadia National Park…
What We’re Watching
Harry & Meghan
Watch the docuseries on Netflix
Spare by Prince Harry—Preorder Here
Aiding in our excitement for Prince Harry’s upcoming memoir Spare, Mariah and Amanda have enjoyed devouring their documentary series Harry & Meghan. The duo give more in-depth perspectives on how they met, got married, as well as other more controversial topics, like how they decided to step back from royal duties. One of the themes that comes up again and again is the suffocating, inhumane presence of the news media, always trailing Harry, his family of origin, and now his wife and children. These discussion are, of course, framed by the fact that it was the paparazzi that chased Princess Diana to her death—a fate he is doing his very best to save his wife from. The latter episodes move more into the strained family ties amongst the royals, and how Harry and Meghan tried their best to find solutions to please everyone, but also protect their safety and sanity. Hopefully this series does something to alleviate the completely unwarranted negative treatment of the titular couple, and also show how this family is largely like any other— a group of people trying to stumble their way into more loving, healthy, and balanced relationships.
What We’re Eating
Trader Joes Jingle Jangle and Fresh-Baked Cookies
It is now the time of year to devour all sorts of seasonal Trader Joes delicacies, perhaps the greatest among them the chocolate-covered snack mix called Jingle Jangle, made up of caramel popcorn, store brand Oreos, mini peanut butter cups, and M&Ms, all enrobed in chocolate. Mariah brought in a tin to share, and needless to say it went very quickly. What also disappeared almost immediately are the cookies Mariah, Bailey, and Emily baked from cook books you can purchase at our store. Bailey worked from Christina Tosi’s new tome All About Cookies, making her “Lil’ Motivators”; Emily baked Funfetti Cookies from The Essential Book of Vegan Bakes by Holly Jade; Mariah tooled around with the “Lime Squiggles” and “All-in Shortbreads” from Claire Saffitz’s new What’s For Dessert. All were delicious, but you can read about specific cookie tasting notes and which cookbooks we liked best in our upcoming Cookbook Showdown post. We can’t wait to share our full thoughts there, and would love to see anything you all have baked from our cookbooks in store!
What We’re Reading
Babel by R. F. Kuang
Mariah feels a bit like the Greek oracle Cassandra with this book—she has been screaming from the rooftops about how good it is, and yet no one else among the staff picked it up for months. Luckily, unlike the unfortunate Cassandra, Jess and Bailey finally began this masterpiece. Set in the 1830s, Babel follows a young Cantonese boy Robin Swift as he is whisked off to England after being orphaned by disease. There, he is is sent to Oxford to study at the Royal Institute of Translation (Babel). During his studies, he forms close bonds with his cohort, and they all begin to see they are cogs in the great machine of the United Kingdom’s empire, and they must decide if they will continue helping the machine run smoothly or if they must take action to do what is morally just. Bailey and Jess both excitedly update Mariah on their progress whenever they see one another. If you choose to dive into this achievement of a novel, you can also chitter excitedly about it to any of our booksellers, or participate in the Dog Eared Books Official Book Club’s discussion of it Thursday, March 16 at 10am.
Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
The first book ever chosen for our Dog Pack subscription service (which you can learn more about here), many of our staff have read and loved this latest book from Nothing to See Here author Kevin Wilson. Frankie Budge, a 16-year-old aspiring writer and consummate loner, just wants to make it through another sweltering summer in Coalville, Tennessee. Much to her delight, creative and romantic sparks fly when she meets Zeke, a new kid who just moved into his grandmother’s house. The two bond over making an unsigned poster with disconcerting art and an engimatic phrase and then spread it all over town and the surrounding areas. People begin to panic and things spiral out of control—and neither Frankie or Zeke ever claim responsibility. That is, until decades later when a reporter contacts Frankie and it seems like the truth has to come out. Nearly half our staff read and loved this book. It’s so weird but so universal in the uncertain feelings of adolescence, and how dumb choices we make as children can follow us into adulthood. This is another Official Book Club pick, so you can join in on talking about it in February!
