One Had The Same Dream, Before Life Got In The Way

NY Newsday informs us that there are at least some people living out their fantasies:

"Betsy Burton was a young mother and an aspiring novelist in Salt Lake City when she and a friend came up with the idea of opening a bookstore in the tiny offices they rented for their writing. ‘We could write in the back room and put bells on the door so we'd know when customers came in. Why don't we do it?’ she said to her friend's impetuous suggestion. And they were off, fantasizing about their ideal bookstore: It would carry every book by their favorite authors, not just the famous ones. (‘A really good store would have all of Graham Greene. And Anthony Trollope.’ ‘Do you realize how many books Anthony Trollope wrote?’ ‘Yes.’)

"...There have been financial struggles and personal struggles, but through it all, there has been the joy of matching readers to books. And now Burton has written a book herself; not the novel she originally intended, but a memoir, The King's English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller."

The complete antithesis of the above? The new Crossword at Turner Road, which one visited last evening, in search of succour after spending virtually the entire day gazing at grey skies. What a disappointment: there's a pathetic collection, no better than one of those terrible hotel bookshops. Crushed, one returned home.