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We asked psychologist Randy J. Paterson, author of How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use (New Harbinger), if his strategies could be applied to booksellers. "Of course," he said, "running a bookstore these days is stressful. It can be difficult to sustain a rosy outlook, even though e-reader usage seems to have leveled off and the long-rumored extinction of the printed word seems to have been overstated.
"The struggle to keep that smile pasted on can be just too much. So in keeping with the book's principles, let's turn it around. If unhappiness is easier, then let's embrace it. Here's how:
- Contrast the sales figures for your "Literature" section with those for diet guides. Consider phasing it out altogether in favor of adult coloring books.
- Read every happiness book in the store. Nothing can make you miserable faster than contemplating all those cheerful stories.
- Count the middle-aged adults buying "young adult" fiction--but clearly not for their kids.
- Attempt to sustain eye contact with purchasers of "Fifty Shades" imitators. (Actually, this can be amusing.)
- Try to explain to the self-published poet why you don't need more than four seats for a reading.
- Neglect to give the re-varnished cash register stool sufficient time before you sit on it all day.
- Ask if your landlord will accept overstock in lieu of rent.
- Get take-out for lunch from the nearest fast food outlet and eat behind your own counter.
- Hide in the storeroom the next time someone asks, "Do you have anything about teen vampires?"
"Or, alternatively:
"Go for a walk at lunch. Bring something healthy to eat into work. Read something you like, even if you don't stock it. Remind yourself that you inspire literacy by your very existence. You are on the side of culture, creativity, education, and imagination. And rest easy: no one will ever attack you for being one of the 1%."