May as well start somewhere

So here is my first blog post since updating my web page. My son-in-law, Mike Wernert, gave the old osbooks.com a facelift and brought it into the 21st-century. I've been wanting to do a blog for quite some time now, and this is a good opportunity to start. Booksellers are not famous for being on the leading edge of technology, but I'm willing to expand my horizons. I may even make a Facebook page for Orrin Schwab Books and try out this social media hoorah. Its not that I'm anti-technology, it just seems like one more thing to add to my busy schedule and routine is one thing too many. But again, I do want to get this blog going, as it can be a good record of my business travels and adventures.

I've been in business full-time since 1991. Hard to believe that its been 23 years already. I started out as an eager and energetic college student dabbling in books. Now I find myself an eager and less energetic 48-year old man who still loves the book business and the opportunities it has afforded me over the years. I do regret not keeping a better record of events and experiences, because I've often said there are enough of these to write a book someday. I still may do that.

I've met such a wide variety of people over the years in this business . From the famous (Jay Leno) to the eccentric (the quirky great-grandson of Edgar Rice Burroughs). I've purchased books from many hundreds of people over the years, and been in hundreds of homes across the United States. Some of the more memorable people I've purchased books from are the mother of the creator of Barney the Purple Dinasaur in Texas, a member of a European royal family living in St. George, Utah, and purple-heart decorated WWII veteran Chase Nielsen from Brigham City, Utah, a member of the famed Doolittle Raiders.

It would take hours and hours and pages and pages to recount all of the memorable experiences I've had as a bookseller, so I'll close this entry and maybe sprinkle in experiences in upcoming posts.