Technologies of Joy
“Joy is the enhancement of happiness through knowledge. We as booksellers have more of an opportunity to spread that joy through the books we present and those we find meaningful. Books are still, in my mind, one of the great technologies. For the transference of imagination, there is nothing better, to my mind. For the broad expanse of sharing and the interplay of imagination, it's hard for me to think what could be better. The length and breadth of the possibilities of joy are extended by the more we know and the more able we are to make our informed decisions. Books become the fulcrum of conversation. The books by themselves could get you there as an individual but, for most of us, the dialogue back and forth increases the possibility of joy. I think that's the point of being a bookseller and the point of reading—and, really, the point of life.”
—Paul Yamazaki of City Lights in San Francisco, in Reading the Room: A Bookseller’s Tale