Reminder from the Bookselling Gods

On Tuesday I helped a customer looking for Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. He was an older man with a walker, I'd say in his late 50s or early 60s. In the course of the conversation he told me that he only learned to read 7 years ago and was now working his way through the classics. We had a lovely conversation about his reading adventures so far-how tranformative he found The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, how he still read with a dictionary beside him and so forth. It was a great reminder about why I love what I do. On Tuesdays especially (new release day) it can be easy to forget my own advice to staff about how every book could be someone's favorite and think of all the piles I have to put in their proper spot as just a task I have to do. But they're books-books that might change someone's life or give them joy even if it just takes them out of themselves for a little while. And even though I am seeking other work it was a welcome reminder and affirmation for the now.