Oliver Speaks his Mind

oliver chillin Yo, girls; I’m Oliver. I’m hangin’ at the bookstore until my adoption comes through. Been a little longer than I expected, what with me bein’ so adorable an’ all. I mean, look at me. I’m cuter than barley sugar and twice as sweet.

Well, sweet, I mean, I’m a tough guy but I’ve got a tender side too, y’know? I’m not afraid to let my feelings show. Like, I love breakfast. Every morning we have wet breakfast here. The rest of the day we get your basic dry hard crap, but for breakfast we get Friskies shreds. Oh maaaaaan, them things’re good. I never hesitate to declare my love for them. I stand in the middle of the dish an’ paw the stuff. There might be some squealin’ involved.

‘Cause I grew up in a rough neighborhood, y’know? The street right outside the bookstore, that’s where some lady found me an’ took me to their door. It was nice of ’em to take me in, y’know, ’cause I was kinda little then. Six weeks old, too young to be on my own. So I got used to scrappin’ for scraps. Here, I don’t have to; always plenty. Plus I can nap anywhere, anytime. That’s great, man! oliver

Now that I can have all the food I want, my fur looks great. I’m a tuxedo dude. Even though I like to run an’ play, I keep my feet bright white. I have great whiskers, so I keep ’em clean an’ shiny too. Fact is, I’m drop dead gorgeous. All you have to do is look at me to see that.

But hey, I’ve got an erudite side, too. I ain’t your basic street tough, y’know, after spendin’ a month in a bookstore. I used erudite correctly in a sentence, didn’t I? Yeah, ya pick up things, livin’ in a bookstore, if ya keep your ears clean an’ open. I do my ears every day.

DSCN0704Oh yeah, there’s a couple of other cats here, too. Fun to play with, nice guys. Gonna miss me when I’m gone. I’m way cuter than them so I’ll get adopted first. Chicks can’t resist a guy in a tuxedo.

C’mon down an’ visit. I’m healthy, an’ ready for a good time, if you know what I mean. Let’s get Friskies! Mrrrrrow.

Rewrite a Classic Title Game

DSCN0018Some friends and I on a bookstore owner list were playing with classic titles, rewriting them to reflect the realities of running a bookshop. Here are a few we came up with:

Oh the Places You’ll Dust

Farewell my Harlequins (please!)

The Old Man and the C Shelf

Bonfire of the Vanity Presses

The Optimist’s Slaughter

Go Set a Watch (for those unfamiliar, timing the moment your front door can close so you can go to a party/go to bed early is one of the big joys of small business ownership)

How to Make Friends and Influence People’s Reading Habits

And we actually found a few titles that needed no alteration:

The Hunger Games

The Friendly Persuasion

Odd Hours

Yeah, you kind of have to be a literary snob, or worked retail, to get some of them. Please add your titles in comments. It’s kind of addictive once you get started….

Think and Grow Poor

The Thorn Books (those by authors whose star has faded; think about it)

The Cuckoo Flew Over One’s Nest (because you do kinda have to be crazy to do this)

To Kill a Mocking Teen

The Devil Wears Too Much Perfume (for all who’ve ever been choked by a customer)

Along Came a Spiderweb

Two Years before I went Bankrupt

The Battle of the Bookshelf Labyrinth

A Farewell to Free Time

A Prayer for All the Meanies (if you’ve ever worked retail….)

Come on, you know you want to make up a few…