“My stance is that we all stumble into the world by chance, find something we truly enjoy and do that until we stop enjoying it and start something else,” says Norm Pattis, former philosophy major and journalist, then lawyer and farmer, and now also the new owner of Whitlock Farms Booksellers.

For Pattis, a life-long love of the written word developed into the pursuit of reason and personal truth through philosophy.  He then decided to take a more active role in reaching people and became a journalist, but he ultimately felt that to be “too derivative.”  He wanted to create events rather than merely report them.  Ultimately he decided to put his reasoning abilities to use defending the little guy as a civil lawyer.
            Pattis, a man who finds pleasure in challenging the status quo, didn’t want the Whitlock Property in Bethany to be bought for its land and turned into “another McMansion,” so he consulted with his wife about buying the business.  He was pleasantly surprised when she agreed.
            “From that point on, there really wasn’t any turning back,” he admits.
            Owning a bookstore has been a life-long dream of sorts for Pattis, who spend much of his youth in a public library.  He believes that everybody who loves to read would dream of owning a bookstore and surrounding themselves with books.
            “The thrill of owning a bookstore is selling whatever I like,” Pattis said.  He also plans to open a small press as “a venue for unpublished poets.”
            Pattis describes his own life as simple, but busy.  He maintains a wide-array of work between his law practice, his small farm, and the bookstore.  But he says he doesn’t get too involved in social circles.  Although his busy law practice prohibits him from taking part in the daily activities at the bookstore, Pattis plays a role in procuring new books through making house calls when people invite him over to look at their books and attending estate sales.
            “You never know what you might find,” Pattis said, there’s always a chance of finding a book that could change your life.  Having recently started collecting himself, Pattis is on the lookout for the works of John Milton and intends to hold onto those copies.
            Pattis says he gets a thrill just from offering an alternative to the big bookstore chains.  Pattis, who in his law practice has dealt with everything from reverse discrimination cases to preserving an inmate’s basic liberties, is used to taking on large establishments and even challenging the government’s authority.  The bookstore is another of his ramparts against the status quo.