This Ambition Would Work Only If...

I'm letting you in on one of my crazy childish ambitions.

I had this crazy childhood dream about being a proud owner of a bookstore. Nothing big, just a cozy bookstore, the ones where it occupies a country living room, or the old, quaint ones like in Notting Hill (1999) called the Travel Bookshop where Julia Roberts steps in to meet Hugh Grant, or the little book nook like in Before Sunset (2004) where Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke meet again.

The Travel Bookshop in Notting Hill, London

Yeah, this is similar to what I had in mind 

Shakespeare and Company in Paris

Inside Shakespeare and Company, curious which titles they carry

And my book shop would have tons of books on the floor, postcards and crazy bookmarks and all sorts of shenanigans, even outdated newspapers if it made any history at all. 

The bookshop of my dreams just might, just might have a flying bike somewhere

And as poor bookshop owner, I was willing to give up comfortable living just to be able to sell some more books and read books

You see, all was going well and fine, for me to have the bookshop of my dreams. As I've said, it's a childhood dream. All was going good, and I even had ambitions of more ladders leaning against more bookshelves reaching the ceilings to store some books, or even a cottage just to house some books, so yeah, you get the idea.

I repeat, all was going well and fine until those expensive e-book readers came along and made owning a library portable. I can't blame them. E-books help save the environment by saving the sheets of paper to be used and printed upon. And saves ink too. So you see my problem? I can't compete with being a book shop owner (even if it still all remains an ambition), when more and more people gravitate towards e-books these days which is even lighter compared to a hardbound book.

Do what you want with your e-book reader

And take it anywhere you want, read anywhere you want

But I feel defeated, armed with my childhood dream and fear for the future where everything these days is better on screen, I might be lucky to be able to sell novels for Php2 each as paperweights.

So yeah, I need another ambition. I thought of bookmark crafter, but who would even buy bookmarks from me thirty or forty years from now? Boohoo!

On second thought, I feel like being a book shop owner would put me out of business anyway since I would be hesitant to part from books acquired.

See what it takes to kill a childhood dream?


Got a better childhood ambition? Share them with me! =)