12/24/2025
From Janet: I want to write something poetic and lovely about this year, something that at least attempts to encapsulate my gratitude for the people who have allowed Avid to forge a path back to thriving in 2025. This year has managed to be the most heart-wrenching yet heart-filling period of business ownership yet, one in which I made lots of mistakes, issued many apologies, tried hard and still failed pretty often, and learned (again…and again) that my gut is always, always worth listening to. That Michelle’s words will always ring true and feel like the most honorable path forward (“when they go low…”). At Avid, we’re wrapping up this year in strong shape both spiritual & emotional. THANK YOU.
After missing much of this summer and fall due to health issues, I returned to work in October and have been pulling 60-80 hour weeks since. While being the primary bookseller on the sales floor, I have been doing my best to solve myriad customer service issues in any quiet moments I had between shoppers. In November, Sharon and Mal joined me as booksellers, and some other lovelies came on board to help out as needed (hi there, Mary, Daniel, Sweet, Beth, Leara, Izabella, Duke, et. al.) Buds Josh & Megan from essentially made it possible for us to fatten up the shelves, and multiple people have been delivering nourishment in the form of yummy food and wonderful used books.
It’s after 10pm on Christmas Eve-Eve; I’m about 12.5 hours into my workday and am buzzing from what was an utterly delightful day of ringing up books. After close, I spent 3 hours merchandising so that y’all can come in on Christmas Eve (open 10-3) to a shop that’s really entertaining to browse. We’ve laid things out to make last-minute shopping easy & FUN. Holiday greeting cards are BOGO on 12/24, so take this chance to inexpensively write a note to someone whose presence makes your world brighter.
There exist emails I’ve literally not had time to reply to, some subscription mailings that weren’t shipped on time, & orders that are late. I own these issues and will be making things right as soon as I can. Until then, you have my word that I am always doing my best. ❤️, Janet
