Educating Emily
How an OBCZ helped spark a reading fire in a nonreader
by bookczukFebruary 1, 2005
"Um...it's a nice idea, I guess, but I don't read books."
Hearing the mere words, innocently spoken, made all the blood rush from my head and turned my face a shade of pasty white.
"Well," she continued, "that's not exactly true. I read them when I absolutely have to, for school and stuff. But to read for fun? No way. Books bore me."
I had to sit down. Fast. For a lifelong reader and booklover like myself, this was too much to bear.
Lovely Emily is one of my favorite employees at one of the two OBCZs I manage. She has a beautiful smile, dancing eyes, and makes a great cappuccino. Clearly, this dismal view of reading called for action.
"Are there any books you've read that you've ever liked?" I asked.
"Well...I guess. But I don't remember the titles."
"What kind of movies do you like?"
She told me and an idea was born. I began singling out books that matched the type of movie she liked. Light, romantic comedies translated to chick lit. Movies that make you cry, but aren't too heavy became Nicholas Sparks, an author I don't prefer, but others absolutely love.
In the meantime, Emily began watching the bookshelf in the OBCZ. One day she told me that it amazed her how many people gravitated to the shelf to peruse the books. "The customers really like having the shelf there. They check it out all the time!"
Words to warm the heart of an OBCZ keeper, for sure. It also earned an extra big tip in the tip jar that day.
At my suggestion she tried Bridget Jones's Diary ("I kept picturing the movie in my head. Colin Firth is really cute for someone so old!"), The Education of Little Tree ("Wow! It's so different from my life!"), The Switch ("Do you have more books by her?"), In Her Shoes ("Fantastic! I laughed so hard I woke up my roommate!")and A Walk to Remember ("I loved it!").
She picked out on her own The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing ("Too confusing!"), Handle With Care ("Sweet"), Charming Lily ("I didn't finish it, sorry...I know I picked it off the shelf, but ugh. So s-l-o-w"), The Notebook ("Look! another book by that great author! I'm pumped!"), and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood ("It was much better than the movie!").
I began to notice that when I went to the OBCZ to stock the shelf, Emily would work her way over to check out what I had left. Soon, she began to greet me as I walked through the door. If she was outside on break, I'd see her peering through the window to see what I was putting on the shelf. When my car pulled up, if there weren't too many folks in the shop, she met me out back to bring in books. It seemed like we had a fledgling reader on her hands.
Emily has begun to branch out in her reading tastes. She's now tried some nonfiction (Into Thin Air) and recently asked me for a recommendation for science fiction.
All that pales in comparison to yesterday, when two momentous things happened. I got a journal note from an anonymous finder. And when I went to the OBCZ, Emily dropped what she was doing and ran to tell me the most amazing news.
"I read a great book and I even went on the computer and made a note on it! I loved the book so much that I went to the bookstore and bought another one by the same author! This reading stuff is great!".
As I walked out of the cafe, I found myself humming an old Jimmy Durante song, (I'll never forget) The Day I Read a Book
-------------------------
(I'LL NEVER FORGET) THE DAY I READ A BOOK
(Jimmy Durante and Jackie Barnett)
There's one day that I recall, though it was years ago.
All my life I will remember it, I know.
I'll never forget the day I read a book.
It was contagious, seventy pages.
There were pictures here and there,
So it wasn't hard to bear,
The day I read a book.
It's a shame I don't recall the name of the book.
It wasn't a history. I know because it had no plot.
It wasn't a mystery, because nobody there got shot.
The day I read a book--I can't remember when,
But one o' these days, I'm gonna do it again.
SPOKEN: Ah, lit'rature! There's nothin' like sittin' home...
Hearing the mere words, innocently spoken, made all the blood rush from my head and turned my face a shade of pasty white.
"Well," she continued, "that's not exactly true. I read them when I absolutely have to, for school and stuff. But to read for fun? No way. Books bore me."
I had to sit down. Fast. For a lifelong reader and booklover like myself, this was too much to bear.
Lovely Emily is one of my favorite employees at one of the two OBCZs I manage. She has a beautiful smile, dancing eyes, and makes a great cappuccino. Clearly, this dismal view of reading called for action.
"Are there any books you've read that you've ever liked?" I asked.
"Well...I guess. But I don't remember the titles."
"What kind of movies do you like?"
She told me and an idea was born. I began singling out books that matched the type of movie she liked. Light, romantic comedies translated to chick lit. Movies that make you cry, but aren't too heavy became Nicholas Sparks, an author I don't prefer, but others absolutely love.
In the meantime, Emily began watching the bookshelf in the OBCZ. One day she told me that it amazed her how many people gravitated to the shelf to peruse the books. "The customers really like having the shelf there. They check it out all the time!"
Words to warm the heart of an OBCZ keeper, for sure. It also earned an extra big tip in the tip jar that day.
At my suggestion she tried Bridget Jones's Diary ("I kept picturing the movie in my head. Colin Firth is really cute for someone so old!"), The Education of Little Tree ("Wow! It's so different from my life!"), The Switch ("Do you have more books by her?"), In Her Shoes ("Fantastic! I laughed so hard I woke up my roommate!")and A Walk to Remember ("I loved it!").
She picked out on her own The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing ("Too confusing!"), Handle With Care ("Sweet"), Charming Lily ("I didn't finish it, sorry...I know I picked it off the shelf, but ugh. So s-l-o-w"), The Notebook ("Look! another book by that great author! I'm pumped!"), and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood ("It was much better than the movie!").
I began to notice that when I went to the OBCZ to stock the shelf, Emily would work her way over to check out what I had left. Soon, she began to greet me as I walked through the door. If she was outside on break, I'd see her peering through the window to see what I was putting on the shelf. When my car pulled up, if there weren't too many folks in the shop, she met me out back to bring in books. It seemed like we had a fledgling reader on her hands.
Emily has begun to branch out in her reading tastes. She's now tried some nonfiction (Into Thin Air) and recently asked me for a recommendation for science fiction.
All that pales in comparison to yesterday, when two momentous things happened. I got a journal note from an anonymous finder. And when I went to the OBCZ, Emily dropped what she was doing and ran to tell me the most amazing news.
"I read a great book and I even went on the computer and made a note on it! I loved the book so much that I went to the bookstore and bought another one by the same author! This reading stuff is great!".
As I walked out of the cafe, I found myself humming an old Jimmy Durante song, (I'll never forget) The Day I Read a Book
-------------------------
(I'LL NEVER FORGET) THE DAY I READ A BOOK
(Jimmy Durante and Jackie Barnett)
There's one day that I recall, though it was years ago.
All my life I will remember it, I know.
I'll never forget the day I read a book.
It was contagious, seventy pages.
There were pictures here and there,
So it wasn't hard to bear,
The day I read a book.
It's a shame I don't recall the name of the book.
It wasn't a history. I know because it had no plot.
It wasn't a mystery, because nobody there got shot.
The day I read a book--I can't remember when,
But one o' these days, I'm gonna do it again.
SPOKEN: Ah, lit'rature! There's nothin' like sittin' home...
