The Legend of the Seeker

In 1994 I took on a second job. It wasn’t so much that I needed the money. Back then, I was working for Big Oil and had more money than I knew what to do with. No, my second job was more an experiment.

I had this half-baked dream of retiring one day and opening up my own bookstore, so I thought it would be a good idea to see what exactly I was getting myself in to. I went to work part-time at Waldenbooks in the University Center.

It was hard work – a lot harder than I expected it to be. That’s probably because I was working 40 hours a week at my real job, and then an extra 20+ hours a week at my second job. Even as a youngster, I got tired.

Plus, they put me in charge of the Romance section, of all things. I have nothing against romance per se, but it is probably the one part of a bookstore you are least likely to find me in under normal circumstances. I had hoped for the Sci-Fi section, or maybe the children’s section.

Mostly, though, my duties involved restocking the shelves. Bookstores go thru a lot of books, and for every one sold another one has to be put on the shelf in its place. Hours upon hours were spent hauling boxes of books from the back room out onto the floor, and then arranging the books onto the shelves.

Working at a bookstore not only gave me the employee’s discount, but also gave me first pick of all the books. As I restocked the shelves, I’d come across an interesting book – about once every other minute or so – and set it aside. Then I’d hide them all in the back room where nobody would find them. Once my paycheck was handed over to me, I’d hand it right back to them and purchase all those books! I was like a kid in a candy store.

One of the books I came across while restocking the store one night was “Wizard’s First Rule” by brand new author, Terry Goodkind. I didn’t know if that was a male or a female author, since the cover didn’t have any picture. But it piqued my curiosity so I set it aside till payday.

12 books and a TV series later, I am so glad I did. What a great series that is! I love it, and have all my sisters, nieces, nephews, and friends hooked on it as well.

Have you read it? Have you seen it? You should… really.

As for my dream of opening a bookstore: I don’t think that’s for me. Not that I’m afraid of hard work – I just saw that being an independent bookseller would just not be possible. I’d have to be part of a chain to be able to survive the competitive market.