Black Books

Apparently booksellers have similar peculirities all over the world.

                                                              Season 1 Episode 1

Trying to gather people for a brainstorming II

(which does not mean that this is the description of the second attempt, unfortunately it is more likely the tenth.)

Bookstore n1: closed
Bookstore n2: I can't. I am busy.
Public Library: the director tells me that next Monday there's the monthly meeting of the whole staff of the library.
Bookstore n3: I can't. We're moving so we're busy.
Bookstore n4: I'd like but many members of the staff are ill so I can't.
Bookstore n5: Oh, interesting! No, I'm not interested.
University professor: I'd like but I am quite busy writing something so... no.
Music teacher: it seems very interesting but no, I can't.
Bookstore n6: I am not persuaded. Monday is my Sunday.

Yes, probably I am using the blog as a therapeutic tool.

The good point is that at the end of the day a good number of booksellers seemed interested but had objective difficulties in coming to the meeting, I am thinking about a tool to make them work when and where they want. A cultural probe or something.

Trying to gather people for a brainstorming

Next Monday is the day of the workshop/focus group/meeting that might sign the destiny of this project.
No matter what.
I will gather ten people: booksellers, librarians, readers, students, members of reading groups, ...
Up to this point I have 3/4 members, nevertheless I am optimistic.

On Friday, I went out to invite some more booksellers:

Bookstore n1: too crowded to enter
Bookstore n2: no, I am busy next Monday. I am sorry. ...but I'd love to.
Bookstore n3: I cannot next Monday.
Bookstore n4: There wasn't the bookseller I was looking for..

Today I went out to invite some more booksellers.

Bookstore n1: closed
Bookstore n2: closed (the good part is that closed still means uncertainty: 50% yes)
Bookstore n3: I can't.
Library: to invite a librarian I have to ask the library's director the permission
Bookstore n4: .... here it goes:

There she was: the bookstore's owner. Female, 40 years old, casual style, tall, not skinny. She did not look friendly. I recently had troubles describing the kind of activity that I am planning, so I decided that "focus group" could be a good term.

Bookseller: "A meeting?"

_"...a meeting where I will lead activities to get ideas for the project" (not the most engaging answer, I reckon. What to say? There will be markers, post-its and possibly some plaster? mph.)

_"It will be a kind of focus group" MISTAKE
_"I am not interested" She was more than cold, she was gaunt.
_"Can I ask you why?"
_" I did one once: I did not like it and it leads to nothing" COOL
It felt like a resume of a disastrous blind date.
_ "I am sorry" she closed the conversation with this, along with a gush of liquid nitrogen.
I left.

Nevermind.

I learned a couple of things:

Focus group isn't necessarily a good term.
When you try to gather people for a brainstorming without paying them, even if you're possibly working for them, one every ten might say "yes".

Meanwhile in Milan

15th pf January: Stefano Boeri, architect and council member of the Milan administration meets the delegates of Milanese editors, libraries and bookstores to evaluate developing projects to be carried on through the year.  
The first step is the definitve connection of all the actors belonging to the book sector: from writing to reading.

report