Wednesday, August 13, 2008

high school reading lists

I worked my first regular shift in the bookstore yesterday. As soon as we unlocked the doors, moms of various ages rushed in with required reading lists in hand. They made a beeline for our classic section and began the hunt. Nothing beats a determined effort to save a few bucks when it comes to buying school supplies. Fifty cents a book versus ten bucks a book; with that sort of incentive it got intense quick. And who cares about condition? Torn covers, no biggie. Spaghetti stains, no problem.

For the most part, we were able to put at least two to three titles in each lady's hands. Some books we just don't see in our donations. Some, we see so many we end of boxing half of them.

In an effort to keep our eyes peeled for the hot authors and the hot books, I compiled a list of our local high school required reading titles. It took a full page single spaced to get all of them down. But now we have a guide. We didn't experience this rush for classics last year as the store opened two months into the school year. Folks already had to purchase their student's three to ten titles.

It was a busy morning and the early birds got the best deals. I will spend Thursday going through the library's withdrawal closet to look for more books to add to the store. They pull them from the collection based on condition. The local moms don't care about condition, for them it is all about price.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Funny how I LOATHED the concept of a required reading list in high school, but now I see how the meme codifies the culture; brings us together for precious few artistic touchpoints...

...Well, Besides Dark Knight anyway.

EYR said...

Yep, so many of these titles are ones I read in high school and in college. The commonality does provide a thread of continuity for all of us.

Okay, what did you think of Dark Knight?