Why Call It, “Middle Ground Books and Gifts”?
Why call the bookshop “Middle Ground Books and Gifts?” It’s a good question. We produced lists of hundreds of possible names. We came up with some really great names (that were already taken), and some really terrible names (i.e. “Dingonuts Books”- (Dingonuts is actually a SNACK producer in Malta (not making this up - https://www.facebook.com/people/DINGO-NUTS/100064060804693/?sk=about))). There were lots of possibilities, but nothing really fit.
We decided on “Middle” in part for “cutesy reasons:” Megan, Debra, Lance. (“Middle” was a lot better than “Dumble,” or “Lamed”). Moreover, the notion of being “in the middle,” is a big part of our experience. For the three of us, we have never really “fit” anywhere. We have been “in between” groups that we should belong to, but we don’t. We wanted to make a “third place” that was the in-between, on purpose. One of our rough draft logos is a book that is opened up as a tent, and that is fitting because books can provide us with a space to understand the world, and one another . . .and hopefully find a place.
Even more, we are Kansans and therefore a part of the great sweep of North America called the “Midlands.” Our culture was largely formed by immigrants who could stomach neither the tyrannical cultural dictates of the Puritans nor the slavery and aristocratic airs of the deep south. They just wanted to be left alone, to work hard, and to treat others with the kindness that they would like to be shown. That legacy continues for the most part. Even while the algorithms of social media manage to cause deeper divisions in broader society, there is a space for decency, common understanding, and diversity of thought.
That leaves the “ground” part of “middle ground.” It’s not only because it completes a conventional metaphor, but also, because we have grown up close to the dirt in agricultural-based communities, and that is a good thing. “Ground” is simple, substantial, diverse, and life-giving. It is the basis for everything we have. Concerns for our state and for our region are rooted in this place that we call home. We are “sons and daughters of the soil.” For that reason we will do all that we can to encourage and foster voices in our community that represent life here.
We hope to be simple, substantial, and solid in service to those in our broader community who find themselves “in the middle,” by providing books (reviews and recommendations), gifts (for our Geekosystem), and a space for different people to share the middle ground.
