1,500 miles from my hometown, "Confessions of a Catholic School Dropout" sits in another small town bookstore. This other town is actually much smaller than Brockport, and the population of readers is proportionately less.
When the owner of the store first agreed to a consignment arrangement, the book was prominently displayed on a large table, just inside the door. There it sat with works of other authors from the area. I was quite pleased with the situation.
I recently stopped by to check in and see if more copies were needed. Unlike the staff from the Liftbridge in Brockport, the owner of this store doesn't email regularly or maintain contact. Anyway, in I went... happy to have my book in another "real" bookstore - not just in Amazon's and Barnes & Nobles' virtual ones. Before going to the counter, I glanced at the table where the book had been, but didn't see it.
I greeted the owner and felt waves of unfriendliness spill over the counter. Hmmm. All attempts at happy-happy and friendly-friendly were met with one-word, icy replies.
After several minutes of awkward conversation, I asked her where my book was being displayed. She pointed toward the back of the store. Eventually, I found it on the back wall on a shelf so high only an NBA player on stilts might notice it - maybe. They wouldn't be able to reach it, but they might notice it.
I kindly asked if perhaps it could be moved to a location where it might be more noticeable. Her response?
"I don't want that filth where children can see it."
Filth? Turns out, she's a practicing Catholic and didn't appreciate my book one little bit. She admitted she didn't actually read it, she just skimmed it. "But that was enough."
Do we have a Book Banner in the making?
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