Working in a bookstore always seemed like a magical job to me. And it was. I still remember being amazed that someone was going to pay the 15-year-old me to spend time in the place I was already spending all my time. Of course, like all jobs, it wasn't perfect, but it came pretty close.
For all of you who've wondered what it's like to work in a bookstore, I've got a couple of things for you to check out:
Rebecca at The Book Lady's Blog is a community relations manager for a major national bookseller. She has an ongoing column called Adventures in Bookselling in which she chronicles some of the more, shall we say, quirky customers and requests she and her colleagues have encountered.
IllLiterati is a relatively new site, and they are collecting fun and unusual stories from librarians and booksellers, The first four are all great!
If you're looking for funny bookselling stories with a fair bit of snark, then sign543 is your guy. He's posted six videos filled with tips for shopping in a bookstore. Here's the first one:
Okay, so all of those focus on the outrageous customer interactions and there's obviously a lot more to working in a bookstore. I just picked up a book called Shelf Life by Suzanne Strempek Shea in which she chronicles working at Edward's Books in Springfield, MA. (Sadly, the store no longer exists). This book first came out in 2004 and I can't figure out how I missed it. I grew up in the Springfield area and knew Edward's. In any case, I've got the book now and hope to start it soon. I'm guessing it's filled with more than just insane customer stories!
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