The most curious things happen in bookstores. Just this evening, I went to my local branch of a bookstore chain to spend a gift card that had been burning a hole in my pocket since Christmas – and really, the fact that it took me five weeks to use it does say something about my sense of restraint – but I digress.
I was waiting at the information desk for help when I happened to overhear another customer’s conversation with the bookstore employee. She – the customer – wanted to know the author of Olive Kitteridge and while the employee stumbled a bit (she thought “Olive Kitteridge” was the name of the author, not the book), it was on the tip of my tongue to shout out “Elizabeth Strout!”
But I didn’t. Though I can’t reliably speak to the employee’s intelligence, I had faith that she would eventually figure it out. And I’ve worked in bookstores before, so I know that it can be stressful during the busy times. But I guess you can take the girl out of the bookstore, but you can’t take the bookstore out of the girl.
