“You HAVE to go back in time and choose a different career
path for yourself. What do you choose?”
It’s funny that this is one of Mama Kat’s writing prompts
this week because I’ve been daydreaming lately about what I would do if money
wasn’t an object and I could just do what makes me happy instead of what pays
the bills and feeds the kids. Darned
kids are bottomless pits…….
If I were to win the lottery, I would like to retire and go
work part-time in a book store. I am so
in love with reading that the idea of working with books and being around other
book lovers would be a dream job.
If I could go back and start over though (as the prompt
suggests), I think that I might have perhaps geared my studies toward working
in the publishing industry. In what
capacity, I’m not sure. I don’t think
that I have what it takes to be a professional writer but the idea of working
with authors and being a part of the process that brings books to the store
shelves is very appealing. Of course, I
would have had to be careful not to geek out and gush when meeting the authors
(which is a very real possibility) or I wouldn’t have lasted very long.
Owning my own book store would have been a wonderful goal
too but I’m rather glad that I never went that route. With the advent of the internet and
e-readers, small bookstores everywhere are going out of business. Only the big guys like Chapters, Indigo,
Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc. seem to be surviving these days. If I had opened my own book shop in my
younger years, I’d probably be in a lot of trouble now.
I find this a very sad state of affairs but I guess that we
can’t argue with progress. A lot of
people love e-readers, and I’m glad for them, but my first love will always be
holding a book in my hands.
I have a good, steady job that pays the bills and feeds the
bottomless pits that are my kids, and I am extremely grateful for it, but it
doesn’t stir my passion. Perhaps this is
part of why I’ve been feeling blah these days.
Perhaps this is why I’ve been daydreaming………
Kathy
I think working in publishing would be amazing. And I totally get the whole gushing thing.
ReplyDeleteYep, I'm definitely not a cool character :)
DeleteWorking in a book store would certainly be neat or in a publishing firm. But I think I get in on second best being a book reviewer as a blogger :)
ReplyDeleteYou have a good point there Dominique! I have done several reviews and enjoyed doing it. I love finding new books to read from reading other bloggers reviews :)
DeleteLove this! I thought about this prompt and am no closer to knowing what I would really want to do when I "grow" up.
ReplyDeleteI know! I may be 45 with two teens to feed but I still don't feel grown up and still find myself daydreaming
DeleteI enjoy the ease of downloading a book to my tablet when I feel like it, but I have to admit, trying to read in the bright sun at the beach is a pain in the butt. I'd much rather hold a book in my hand in those times. And that's exactly what I do now! Books on the beach. I loved this post. You never know, book stores might not disappear entirely.
ReplyDeleteI guess that e-readers have their place and so do actual books. I love that you have made both a part of your reading routine. I really do hope that bookstores continue on; there's nothing nice that spending time wandering the aisles :)
DeleteSometimes you've got to do what pays the bills! Here's hoping you win the lottery or retire in wealth so that you can start that bookstore!
ReplyDeleteMy fingers are definitely crossed!!
DeleteA small bookstore DOES sound so lovely though!
ReplyDeleteIt's really nice to dream :)
Delete