Bookstores

 

There’s a special feeling about an independent bookstore. It is similar to a church or a library in that it has a reverential sense, but without any restrictions on moving about, talking or laughing. A bookstore can be a haven that often serves as a safe place to meet friends or family, and it offers a sense of community. In a bookstore, people talk about books and share recommendations. Writers get to have readings there. And bookstores have actual booksellers who are almost always people who know and love books and can supply helpful information. 

Ordering books on the internet gives you a very different experience. Yes, the purchase might be less expensive, but the experience is a good deal less expansive. In a real bookstore, you can browse and pick up the books and get the feel of them in three dimensions. Four, if you spend time with it. You can chat with the bookseller, ask questions, get help with finding the books you want. You will encounter real people, people who share your interest in books. On the internet you  look at graphic illustrations, press buttons, enter numbers, and a few weeks later you will receive a drone-delivered book.  It’s not a human interaction and it doesn’t have much to do with literature. The big internet stores and the big chain stores make it clear: they see books as “product” and they are all about product.

 A real bookstore isn’t about product; it’s about people and place, and poetry and prose. It’s about inquiries and explorations and connections.

 Earlier this week I had the good fortune to read from my book Minerva’s Owl at Vancouver’s Massy Books on Hastings near Main -- http://www.massybooks.com/ -- which describes itself as is “a funky retail destination in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood” and as “a place full of wordy, quirky, artsy, connectivity.”  Massy Books is all those things and more.

 At the beginning of my reading, I commented on the surroundings and noted that you can get the feel of a really fine bookstore as soon as you walk in. Everyone nodded. It felt good there. And I picked up a couple of great books at low prices!

Vincent Van Gogh saw the positive spirit of such surroundings, “Bookstores always remind me that there are good things in this world,” he said.

These days we need to be reminded of that.

Check out Massy Books. You’ll feel better for it.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

Epiphany

 

 

The word “epiphany” is derived from the Greek epipháneia, meaning manifestation or appearance. The Feast of Epiphany has to do with the Magi following the star and seeing the Christ child. It is about manifestation. Seeing the light.

 At this moment of Epiphany 2019 we are in the midst of a climate crisis. Finally, most people have stopped denying that the climate is changing because of human activity, but there are different approaches as to how to respond to the crisis. The UN and 15 year old Swedish activist Greta Thurnberg have pointed out that eliminating or greatly reducing meat and dairy from our diet and restricting air travel to emergencies would make a huge difference. This is something each of us could do, but the uptake on such ideas is slow.

Recently I saw a tweet from a scientist who proposed that “there is nothing wrong with making individual low-carbon choices,” but suggested that there are problems with emphasizing individual lifestyle over collective action. It seems to me that, not only is there “nothing wrong,” there is also a lot that is right about people making lifestyle changes. It is something that has a ripple effect. And when people choose not to fly there is a reduction in the number of planes that will fly, because the airline industry runs a tight margin and they frequently cancel flights. It’s not the case that the plane is going anyway.

 
 
Thurnberg points out that her generation will only fly in emergencies because previous generations have used up the carbon quota of the young. She also suggests that action is important because hope depends on action. My counsellor friends tell me that these days there are unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression in children and youth. Maybe the inaction of older generations contributes to a sense of hopelessness in young people.
 

We will all feel more hopeful when we make changes in our lifestyle to take care of our planet. And, in my first post two years ago, Staying Home, I noted that there are real advantages in spending less time in the air.

 

Certainly it’s true that we should take collective action to put pressure on government and industry to take big steps to reduce climate change. When that happens, we are all going to have to make personal lifestyle changes -- so why not start now? There will be no prizes for being a late adopter and in the meantime our individual lifestyle changes will be helpful.

 


It may be comfortable to turn a blind eye to the damage caused by our consumption of meat and dairy and our addiction to airplane travel, but it’s dangerous.  It’s time for a collective epiphany. It’s time to see the light.