Lucky number thirteen today, the day that marks the start of my fourth week in self-isolation, and what an interesting time the last three weeks have been. Diary of a Bookseller #13 As a person with asthma, I've been self-isolating since before our Pennsylvania governor first encouraged non-essential businesses to close on March 13 (it… Continue reading Bookselling in Self-Isolation
Diary of a Bookseller #12 On Monday, per the guidance of our Pennsylvania governor and health department, we closed the doors of the bookstore to the public. While many stores are remaining open limited hours so that staff can receive books and fulfill web orders, our store is presently closed to customers and employees -… Continue reading How to Support Your Local Indie Bookstore When Everyone’s Stuck at Home
Diary of a Bookseller #11 The Tournament of Books sounds just so much cooler in French. Though its roots are in American basketball, I prefer to refer to it by it's French title, it just sounds more elegant. If I call it le tournoi des livres the books might start jousting or something equally medieval.… Continue reading Le Tournoi des Livres
Diary of a Bookseller #10 One of my favorite things to do at the bookstore is curate displays. As we've rearranged over the years, I've spent time focusing on bringing some of my favorite displays into the same area so when people are looking for recommendations, I have a designated spot to take them to… Continue reading My Favorite Spaces at the Bookstore
Diary of a Bookseller #9 In the last few days, we've had a number of local, self-published authors come into the store and ask us to carry their books. We have a whole procedure for doing so, but one of the first is assessing who their publisher is. Often, the authors themselves don't know and… Continue reading The Publishers, and Their Imprints
Diary of a Bookseller #8 Every year I set out to make normal New Year's resolutions, like eating better, working out more regularly, the usual stuff most basic middle class white girls vow to do every January. But this year, I realized I really want to make some book related resolutions, so here goes! Some… Continue reading New Year, New Bookish Resolutions
One of my new favorite traditions, both personally and at the store, is Jólabókaflóð - the Icelandic tradition of giving books to your family on Christmas Eve and curling up with warm socks and hot chocolate and spending the evening reading together. Below are my suggestions for your own personal Jólabókaflóð, and are also on… Continue reading Jólabókaflóð
Every year at the bookstore I work at, I have everyone choose a few books from the year to highlight as their top gift choices, as well as a selection of backpack backlist titles for our annual Jolabokaflod display (Jolabokaflod post will be next week). Below are my eight choices for the holidays with their… Continue reading Holiday Gift Picks
Each year at the store we have an official competition to see who can sell the most of their seasonal picks and I won this year for the first time ever! I talked a bit about mine in Summer Reading Recommendations and while some of my coworkers may think that I had an unfair advantage,… Continue reading The Art of Recommending a Book
Right now, we are in the middle of one of my favorite times of the year at the bookstore - the fall buying season. The reps from the major publishers are stopping by the store to tell me all about the big books for the fall and I love it. Diary of a Bookseller, Day 4… Continue reading The Role of the Book Buyer
