Seven weeks ago I started a journey I never wanted to go on - my doctor found a lump (which turned out to be three) in my breast. I'm about the same age my mom was (early thirties) when she was first diagnosed with cancer (non-smoker's lung) and it's been my greatest fear (other than… Continue reading Breaking Free of a Reading Slump
Three years ago I wrote a blog post about feminism, "Good Little Feminist," fueled by incidents at concerts where I was fearful of men. I included a list of books about feminism that I had reviewed and in looking back on that list, I came to a startling revelation. Diary of a Bookseller #20 March… Continue reading International Women’s Day
While searching for an out of print hardcover on used book sites the other day, I stumbled upon a number of secondhand sellers trying to sell advance reader copies of books and it inspired me to say something about them here. Diary of a Bookseller #19 There's nothing quite like getting an advance reader copy… Continue reading The Aches of ARCs
This weekend I'll be building faux built-in shelves for my guest bedroom/library with my mom and it has me thinking about the best way to organize my books when I take them back out of their boxes to put them on their new shelves. Diary of a Bookseller #18 There are a number of different… Continue reading Methods of Book Organization
As the world continues to adjust to the new normal, we as booksellers have had to adapt our old ways of doing things to new ways, and one of those ways is embracing virtual events! Diary of a Bookseller #17 Shortly after lockdown started in Pennsylvania, I watch my first ever virtual event - my… Continue reading The Joys of Virtual Events
Every year at the bookstore we share our favorite books for the summer reading season. This year we've upped the number of recommendations per bookseller to eight and these are my recommendations! The Royal Runaway by Lindsay Emory Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margaret by Craig Brown Lovely War by Julie Berry Girl Logic by Iliza… Continue reading Summer Reading Favorites
On Monday I went back into the bookstore to start the slow process of getting us ready for an eventual reopening - one that has started with curbside pickup and will grow from there. Diary of a Bookseller #16 After six weeks unable to work on the floor due to a knee injury followed immediately… Continue reading Slow and Steady Wins the Race
What happens when you take a whole bunch of booksellers and tell them that they have to read all the upcoming releases for fall, the biggest book season of the year, digitally? Diary of a Bookseller #15 One of the best parts of my job as an indie bookstore manager is all the advance reader… Continue reading Going Digital
Diary of a Bookseller #14 Today I went into the bookstore for the first time in a few weeks. At the start of the lockdown, I was going in once a week to process and ship orders that had come in before we closed, sending gift cards out, picking up picture books for virtual story… Continue reading Checking in With My Work Family
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
