Four Letter Words

Hmmmm what can I blog about today? There really isn’t anything going on that I can think of, except snow and hope.


Yeah I know it’s inauguration day and we have a brand spanking new shiny president to drive off the lot. We also got a nice little bit of snow last night that we woke up to. These two things got me thinking about the similarities of the two and eventually about books, or at least a book.

I have always been fascinated with snow. There is no time where I am more at peace than during or right after a snow has fallen. You step out into your yard and it is like a new world. Everything is shiny and clean and beautiful. The mundane has become the magnificent. There are no mud puddles, or dirt mounds. There seem to be no ants or flies. There is no trash or waste. There is only the beauty of the white stuff.

Snow makes the tree limbs take on an appeal they don’t normally have. Makes a chimney with smoke coming out of stir a warm memory. The air seems to be more wholesome, your breath more alive. Buildings seem more mysterious and roads like gateways to other worlds filled with unknown joys.

The world during a snowstorm seems to slow down. Traffic is non-existent; animals lay sheltered in their habitats. Little moves except the snow itself. People seem more content to stay at home with their families, to take time out from their normal routines and swim upstream, do something different. Games are played, hugs are shared, and smiles are plentiful.

Eventually coats are donned, gloves are secured, and sleds are drug out. There are plans of snowball fights, snow angels and sledding at full speeds. Children, teens and adults all take to the ground and participate in these winter activities. Snow reduces us all to childhood in a way. Little bothers seem less important and having a bad attitude more difficult to do.

I simply love snow.

Our country has had a snowstorm, we have a new president and as I write this right now I have no idea what his policies are going to be. What he will end or begin is unknown to me. There is only snow. Many people believe Obama’s presidency holds hope and change some are not as enamored but either way we are on the precipice of something new. Much like the snow makes our normal lives more exciting a new president make our daily politics a bit more exciting.

Eventually, the snow turns to slush and it gets dirty and browned but to me there is always a chance of another layer coming and starting the whole process again. As for Obama, he will soon excite, disappoint, enamor, overjoy, and challenge some of us. Each of us will determine if he remains the pure untouched morning snow or he becomes the dirty slushier snow.


(This all reminded me of C.S. Lewis Narnia books. Snow is a negative metaphor in the books. The land has lain under winter for so long that they have become hopeless but as the kids arrive and bring hope, the thawing begins. My allusion plays out the opposite way but hopefully still makes sense)

The Wall of Promise

After last’s week’s surprise mention of The Gargoyle in the email newsletter, The Week At Duke (many thanks to Gargoyle contributor Stuart Wells and everyone else over there in the Office of News and Communications), we’ve had a steady stream of Gothic customers coming by to check out our new look. Response has been good, I’m glad to say, and it’s been gratifying to watch people cross the threshold and head straight for the New Arrivals section.

(WARNING: Timely Book/Democracy Analogy Ahead!)

Even for those of us who have worked in books for, well, decades, a wall full of new books holds an amazing allure. You learn after a while that a good percentage of all books published each month are going to be junk. There’s no way around that. Corporate booksellers and publishing conglomerates have partnered up in such a way that pushing a lot of garbage out the door and onto the shelves in the hope of big profits is simply too attractive. And while we here at the Gothic try to be discriminating in our ordering, we’re probably going to get a few dogs on the shelf once in a while, too. (We’ll do our best to sell you exclusively Really Good Stuff, though. Honest.) But when any of us opens a box of brand-spanking-new books, we get a little light-headed. Because before any of the books are cracked, before one delves into a book and assesses its quality for himself, the promise of a fantastic read is intact, seductive, and undeniably enjoyable.

I can’t deny having the same feeling today, the day before the inauguration of our 44th president. There’s a tangible promise in the air, a promise of –as we’ve heard almost ad nauseum—change. Now, I hope I’m not stepping out of bounds here on The Gargoyle by saying that I count myself among those who look forward eagerly to experiencing life under the new administration. I’ve believed in Obama starting with his very first appearance on the national stage. I’m not, however, naïve. I know that reality tends to wreak havoc on aspirations. I know that the nation will experience some disappointments and setbacks as those who have as their goal the betterment of the nation make difficult and pragmatic decisions. Tomorrow, we move from the Realm of Hope into the Realm of How-It-Is.

But from this vantage point, all is promise. All is good. All that follows will be that for which millions have yearned over these months, years, decades.

In a (much) smaller way, that’s what we hope our customers feel when upon entering The Gothic the first thing they see is a big wall of brand-new and as yet unread books: a promise of discovery, of adventure, of many great reads to come.