Growing up With Books

“Take your flood book!” The words seem quaint now, but I grew up with these words as our family mantra.  Whenever we left the house for any kind of excursion, out to dinner, or the smallest errand, my mom would make sure we all had our Flood Book. This is the emergency book you have on hand “in case there is a flood” or other calamities. My mom coined this original phrase and even made it a trademark in her profession, putting it on the back of her business card. “Everyone, put your Flood Book in The Elephant”.  In this sentence, “everyone” was just me and my dad and “The Elephant” was my mom’s tote bag of the moment, so named after her original Jim Thompson elephant print bag, long since abandoned. Every tote bag since then was “The Elephant”. If it seems unfair to make her carry those heavy volumes, don’t be concerned. She was always happy to be our pack mule if it meant we were reading.  As an educator, librarian, storyteller, and author, books were not only her livelihood, they were her passion, and eventually (well through bribery, but that’s another story) they became mine.  We were the nerdy family at the table in the restaurant, all wearing glasses, not talking, noses buried in our books until the food was served.  I guess it wouldn’t seem as strange now, since we are used to families not talking and staring at their phones.  Back then, it was a little weird.

The Flood Book concept started when I was growing up in Portland, Oregon.  Portland is the rainiest place on Earth and inevitably there are floods, especially if you live on a lake, as we did. Thus the concept of the “flood book” was born. You might get stuck somewhere; be it a flood, an elevator, or the doctor’s office, and heaven forbid you were to have nothing to read (remember, this was long before we wasted so much time on social media). Oregonians pride themselves on their rain, but my mom hated it. She really missed the sunshine and complained incessantly about the weather until finally, my dad had enough and we moved our household and many cartons of books to Huntington Beach, California. I was 12 at the time, probably the worst time to move for an adolescent girl. Over the years and multiple moves chasing the sun and warmer weather, the “Flood Book” concept was easily adapted to the era or environment we moved to, but it was always called a Flood Book.  When airplane hijackings were a thing in the ’70s, my mom’s carry-on was heaving with books, as she always had a plan to offer Flood Books to fellow passengers if she were to find herself in that situation (luckily she never did). When we moved to Florida, and evacuated from our Miami Beach apartment during Hurricane Andrew, her Flood Books were actually offered to grateful strangers sheltering with us that long night.

Books were my family’s lifeblood and our nourishment.  My mom didn’t cook (we ate a lot of scrambled eggs and Chinese take out), so instead of wasting time at a grocery store, we spent hours in bookstores and libraries, browsing, reading, buying, selling, and trading books. With each move, wall space became an important factor in the house purchase, and books took over more and more of that wall space.  Books instead of wall art.  (Wall art competes with shelf space, so any art we did have had to be a statue or wearable art.)  In my family there was never the need to ask the question of whether or not to buy a book.  Just like you don’t need to ask before buying vegetables at the grocery store, books were always an approved expenditure.  Reading was encouraged at any time and any occasion. I can remember a particularly embarrassing moment, when my mom was caught on live TV during a crucial moment of a Trailblazers basketball game-it might have been a playoff; they zoomed in on her, sitting amongst frenzied fans on their feet, red-faced and cheering, while she was the quiet in the storm, blissfully uninterested, reading her book. She always put the book away in the final four minutes of the game for the “exciting part”. Over the years, the books on our shelves expanded and grew, and our double-story living room had books stacked from floor to ceiling, with a landing at the upper level to reach the top shelves. I grew up in a library. When it was time for my parents to downsize, my boyfriend and I helped pack up their last house in San Diego, and thousands of books had to be sorted and packed.  A daunting test for the would-be suitor that luckily Chris passed with flying colors.

All this as some background as to why books mean so much to me. I have always seen them as a necessity, like toothpaste (or now masks). I am suspicious of people who say they “don’t like to read” or they “don’t have time to read” and like my mom, I am appalled by a house devoid of books. I probably buy books more than any other household item, except pantry items (unlike my mom, I do cook!)  Things have changed a little though.  I have gotten out of the habit of rabidly reading almost a book a day, and I miss it.   I listen to books on Audible, my bedstand is stacked high, and I have a lot of books on my Kindle, but my time is sucked up by Netflix, Facebook, and Instagram (my own fault, I should be more disciplined.) I am in two book clubs, which forces me to at least finish two books a month, but I need to do better. Physical books are still as attractive and tempting as ever though, and a good bookstore is still the most beautiful and enticing store in the world to me. I love to find the unique and quirky bookstores of the world, from small to large (my list includes Powells in Portland, Oregon, City Lights in San Francisco, Book Exchange in Ashland, Oregon, Shakespeare and Co. in Paris, and my favorite of all time, the El Ateneo in Buenos Aires.) Confession time, and I know I am not alone: I buy books that I know it is unlikely I will have a chance to read anytime soon, but I buy them for the possibility that lies within the pages.  A heaving bookshelf is a thing of beauty, and offers a world of opportunity. By the way, I also buy high-heeled shoes that I never wear. They are so darned uncomfortable, but they are so pretty to look at!

Shopping for Books in Napa

I was very excited about Copperfield’s Books moving to First Street in downtown Napa.  Surprisingly, the pandemic has not been the death knell of downtown, as I feared, but almost the opposite.  Several new businesses have popped up and seem to be doing really well!  Perhaps these new shops got breaks on rent? The bustle of downtown makes me happy because our downtown Napa is adorable and I have long maintained that it has the potential to be an amazing destination for locals and tourists alike. I remember a few years ago when it was just vacant storefronts and sad tourists, walking around zombie-like, desperate for a cute coffee shop or a boutique.  Now we have several fun clothing stores and cafes and hopefully more on the way! I sincerely hope they can all survive the pandemic.

Copperfield Books on First Street

I am fortunate that my love for reading is shared by my two daughters (two out of three kids isn’t so bad, right?).  My girls are always up for an outing to a book store.  Eva jumped on the offer to join me to visit the new Copperfield’s. We both needed books. I had a mental list of the books I was hoping to pick up for book club and Eva had her school list for 10th grade English as well as a few fantasy books she has seen on Tik Tok (did you even know that kids are talking up their favorite books on Tik Tok? It’s a thing.) 

The new Copperfields has a huge street-facing corner location, right next to Eiko’s.  It couldn’t be a better location to entice the downtown Napa foot traffic.  It is bright and spacious with high ceilings and polished wood floors. Opening the double glass doors, it feels immediately different than the original, smaller location next to Whole Foods. I should mention that I really loved the old location and I have been a loyal customer and Copperfield’s member for years.  The former location, though small, was cozy and had a pretty good stock of new titles as well as classics, and a great youth section.  It was the perfect spot for Eva to hang out and read while I did the shopping at Whole Foods. I also really appreciated the clean and private toilet at the back of the store. Don’t worry, it wasn’t “free babysitting”, I always purchased a book or two upon picking her up.

It was not a failed excursion, but I am sad to say, we walked out empty-handed and disappointed. Yes, empty-handed! On our visit, the shelves were primarily devoted to hardcover coffee table bargain books, books geared to out of town visitors (about Napa and wine), large format cookbooks, and a LOT of non-book gift items. Nothing really jumped at me or caught my eye and the “new hardback” fiction table and “new in paperback” tables were relatively small. I am hopeful they will add more shelves as the days come, and I am sure they are analyzing what will sell best in this location. By way of illustration, I went in there looking for a Jodi Picoult book from a few years ago, but I was mystified to find they didn’t have a single one of her paperback books.  She is a very popular author with at least 10 bestsellers, and all I could find is her recently published hardcover.  That was concerning. I was also looking for Untamed by Glennon Doyle, another huge current bestseller that I hear is really good, and they didn’t have it on the new hardcover table, or in the current fiction shelves. Maybe it was sold out? I did find one book that has been on my list, Overstory by Richard Powers, although it is dauntingly long and it is entirely possible that it will end up having a nice new home, undisturbed and unread, on my bedside table.

I will give Copperfield’s another chance.  It was opening weekend, so that’s difficult for any business. Nobody asked if we needed help and I didn’t like how crowded it was, which admittedly is a new concern. I used to love a crowded bookstore and the conversations that might be struck. I learned from my mom to chat with other shoppers, to ask for their current favorite read, or offer my own suggestion. Now, I leave a big space around others, and conversation is difficult through the mask. The line at the cash register was long, which was a good sign that they were doing a brisk business. I think they will do just fine in this location with tourists and locals in a “let’s kill time” frame of mind. I ended up placing Overstory back on the table and telling Eva, also empty-handed, that we would head over to Napa Bookmine.  

Napa Bookmine

Napa Bookmine is a gem. We are so lucky to have this little bookshop in Napa.  We have been buying books online from Napa Bookmine since the pandemic, and if the book was in stock, they offer same-day free delivery in Napa.  Bookmine employees are making these complimentary deliveries themselves! Talk about “hustle”.  It warms my heart to see this independent bookstore working so hard to stay alive and beat Amazon.

This was my first visit to the shop since the pandemic started. Walking in the door of Napa Bookmine is like walking into my childhood.  It smells like a bookstore should smell. A mix of new books and old pages. I wish there was a candle or room fragrance called “Bookstore”.  Guess what is everywhere, stacked on the floor, on shelves, on tables, and in every nook and cranny?  Books! Books, books, and more books! Books old and used. The rainbow display of used books in front of the register is gorgeous. I wish I could decorate a dorm room or office like that! If you are lucky, they may have the used version of the book you’re looking for - save the planet and save your pocketbook. There were two young, well-read employees, one at the front and the other roaming to help customers in the back. Both employees were wearing masks even before we entered. (A note about masks on store employees - it makes me feel much more at ease to not see you (the employee) hurriedly fumbling to put on your mask as I am walking in. I know its stifling but I feel safer thinking you have kept your mask on during your shift. I promise to keep mine on the entire time I am in the store!)  The first thing the young man said when we walked in was, “Would you mind taking some hand sanitizer?”  Hallelujah, I loved that.  He then asked if we were looking for anything in particular.  Within minutes he and his co-worker had found almost every book on our list. They knew the authors before we even uttered the full title, and they knew exactly where the book was in the store. They were clearly passionate about reading and knew the books well. The display of “staff recommended reads” is impressive. Eva and I were amazed - we couldn’t get over how quick they were able to find what we were looking for. If it wasn’t on the shelf, they could order it, and it would arrive within a few days. It is small and over-stuffed with books, but it is not crowded with people.  All in all it was a successful excursion. We walked out with a huge bag of books, both new and used, and we can’t wait to dive into our next good read! Oh, and I should mention that my purchase was $10 off because I had an unused voucher on my account from the last time we brought in a bag of used books.  

The experience at Napa Bookmine couldn’t have been more different than at the new Copperfield’s. I am giving Copperfield’s a chance to add more stock, and maybe get more inventory moved in.  I think it will be a great spot to browse a bit while waiting for your food to be prepped at Franklin & First, or waiting for your table at Compline. A nice place for tourists to spend some money! If you do have some serious book shopping to do, I advise you to head over to Napa Bookmine. I believe Napa can support both of these great options.  I implore you to please buy your books locally at either of these great choices if possible.  Amazon is cheaper and faster, but it’s also not helping our town and threatens the independent bookselling industry.  How sad it would be to lose our bookstores to Amazon. I am guilty of using Amazon way too much, but from today I vow to buy all my books locally if its feasible. Please hold me to that if you see me with a book - ask me where I got it!