I just came back from a wonderful vacation. The wife and I, along with several dear friends, jumped into RVs and drove caravan style for several weeks in Florida. It was a wonderful time. The question begs, what do I (did I) pack? I am not thinking of the socks, shorts, and swim suits, but rather my reading materials. Just because I am not near my library, doesn’t mean parts of the library are not with me.
Like a small book mobile, I packed the following bag. I would like to discuss the books I brought and read this trip, along with a few whys.
The first book is one I wanted to re-read. I had discussed this book with a friend, and decided to buy him a copy. I thought I would set it as background reading for another book coming up. This is “Why We Buy. The Science of Shopping” buy Paco Underhill.
I had read this book during my career in Kohl’s retail. Underhill studies shoppers, and gives advice to retail stores. Our company used his research on department store fitting rooms (the whys of fitting room cleanliness); Presenting sheets folded with creases toward the front, (how customers have to feel sheets for “softness” before they buy); working with men’s underwear companies to have an open spot on package to feel the material (most products it seems have to be touched by shoppers. Women’s underwear can be opened, men’s were sealed.) We spent many manhours in every store, repackaging men’s underwear and socks because of customers ripping them open to feel the texture. Some vendors now make it easier to touch.
This book went into many details of what customers look for, and what they avoid. It is an informative read for retailers, and for those interesting in the science of retail. We used other tips in our store. The book also lead me into another retail book I had just bought and wanted to read, “The Premium System of Forcing Sales. Its Principles and Uses” by Henry S Bunting, published in 1913. I read these books in the evening before going to bed.
I was excited to find this book, and had been looking for several years. It too, was a great read. The author stated in the introduction:
“This book is for the business man who has competitors. It is a little book because every statement it contains is compressed center-fire. I am giving you Ideas, not dead pounds of paper. I waste no words in stating my facts-you waste no time in finding out what my facts are. If you are interupted in reading it, put it in your pocket and go back to it at the first chance.“
The book went into the history and success of premiums when buying stuff, as an incentive for brand loyalty. Early premiums were cards, or stars on tobacco, that could be redeemed for various items. I took two pages of notes on 3 by 5 note cards of interesting facts, along with corresponding page number. (I usually use these cards when I read, to make notes. It also is used as a book marks.) There were great examples of how to be successful in the 19-teens.
This was interesting stuff, especially in the year 1913. Some premium ideas have carried over well after this book was written. S&H Green stamps were a premium sales promotion began in 1896. They hit their heyday in the 1950’s and 60’s. Back to my Kohls days, Kohl’s Cash is still a premium one gets only by shopping at Kohls.
This Chicago author had written four books, and I have the other three. I was an advertising major in Journalism, and liked collecting old advertising books. It is something to now have his complete works. They hold a special place in the library.
But I brought other books for my vacation. As I spent ten days in Sarasota, I had done some research for what was there. I brought this book to read while on the beach, and before I visited a museum. What museum? The book is “Three Ringling Circus; A History of Sarasota, Florida, and the Famous Ringling Brothers” by Sandra Gurvis.
The book was highly interesting-about the John Ringling circus museum and his mansion Ca’ d’Zan. There is a photo on the cover of the mansion. The actual museum and mansion were just amazing when we toured through!
I also wanted some adventure reads for when sitting on the beach. My sun-baking days are long gone. Now I just need a good book while under an umbrella, listening to the waves crash. I found two older books. The first was “Seven Grass Huts-An Engineer’s Wife in Central & South America” by Cecile Hulse Matschat, published in 1939. It was an account of her adventures exploring in South America. She was a biologist and painter, looking for excitement. Her husband would survey unknown lands to help decide profitable for mining or ranching, or farming. This was a perfect book for reading outdoors.
The second book was also by Cecile Hulse Matschat, “Suwannee River – Strange Green Land” published in 1938. Matschat spent several months studying the Okefenokee Swamp, and how the Suwannee River began there, and meanders through Georgia and Florida, finally emptying in the Gulf of Mexico (or is now America?) She used locals for directions and information while floating and exploring the swamp, the river, and tributaries. This book was added to “The Rivers of America” series of books.
But of course, if hanging out in Florida, one searches for shells. I knew were we would be searching not just for ordinary seashells, but for fossil seashells. In Sarasota, there are several quarries that mine these fossil seashells for road bases, instead of gravel. We were looking for Pliocene Era shells, about 3.0 to 3.5 million years old.
So I brought along a research book, “Southern Florida’s Fossil Seashells’ By Carol and Bernie Peterson, 2008.
Now that I am home, I have to research and label these beauties. They will then be boxed and added to my collection of rocks, minerals, fossils, and other nature oddities. I have a wonderful large wooden cabinet, with multiple display shelves, that my brother-in-law made for me to house all of these treasures.
Of course, there was much more to see during this vacation-Silver Springs State Park was a wonderful adventure, but I wanted to highlight a few books. I can’t stop reading just because of vacations…
Thanks for reading.
Librarytomes 