“A grandmother visits with her grandson.
‘He’s seven, she says to me. “We’ve been reading a lot of books and I’ve been reading aloud to him, and I’m hoping for some recommendations for some new books.’
I smile. ‘We can definitely do that.’ I look to the boy a say, ‘Well, my friend, tell me what you like. Do you like fantasy books or do you like books that are more realistic, stories that could happen in real life?’
Without missing a beat, the seven-year-old looks at me and says, ‘ I like realistic fiction with an emotional twist.'” (p. 239)
The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading celebrates people who sell books and help readers find books. James Patterson and Matt Eversmann love reading and use these dozens of short descriptions of what librarians and booksellers actually do in the United States and Canada to reveal the joys of books.
Of the many stories of librarians in this book, the one that stood out to me was the one about Diego Sandoval Hernadez, the Supervising Librarian for Jail and Prison Services at the Brooklyn Publican Library in Brooklyn, New York. Hernadez brings library books to Rikers Island for the prisoners.
And, of all the dozens of stories of bookstore workers included in The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians, my favorite was Mike Bursaw’s exploits as owner of Mystery Mike’s in Carmel, Indiana. Mystery Mike specializes in First Editions, signed books, and buying massive collections. I love the story of Mike getting a phone call from a woman in Madison, Wisconsin:
“‘When my mother died,’ says the woman on the other end of the line, ‘my father devoted himself to collecting books. He took excellent care of them right up until the day he passed away.’
‘How many books are you looking to sell?’
‘Roughly fifty thousand.'” (p. 119)
Mike Bursaw recruits George Easter and Mike Dillman to join him in journey to Madison, Wisconsin to check out this massive book collection. Fascinating!
If you love books, booksellers, and librarians, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians shows how wonderful they truly are! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
AUTHOR’S NOTE — vii
Part one. To be a bookseller, you have to play detective — 1
Part two. I could talk about books forever — 71
Part three. I can’t imagine what people do without books in their lives — 141
Part four. It doesn’t matter what you like to read, as long as you like to read — 213
Part five. Just one more chapter, please, just one more chapter — 279
Since I have a large personal library, I don’t use the public library much, almost never! However, I appreciate it and I don’t begrudge them the tax money I give for their support! Booksellers are an eclectic lot! Some I’ve known have been amazingly knowledgeable and helpful while others were sleazy con men/women! As I said, I have a large library and my book buying and accumulating has slowed to a dribble these past ten or twenty years! I grab something for my Kindle from the few authors I read who are still producing but that’s about it! Besides, I’ve run out of room!
Bob, I agree with you on the spectrum of booksellers. Many are wonderful, others…not so much. I, too, have reduced my book buying.
I want to go to Indiana if he bought that collection. Wait, no I don’t. I need to get rid of books not buy them.
Patti, I had the same feeling! I would have loved to traveled with Mystery Mike and George Easter and check out 50,000 books!
Having worked in several bookstores (indie and corporate) and having had many friends in the business I can tell you that many if not most “book sellers” don’t have a romantic bone in their body about the biz. Bookstore customers are at best clueless, precious and annoying, while at their worst genuine psychopaths (especially those in college towns.) The only worst customers were record store customers. Those people were absolute nutjobs.
I also knew a woman who was one class away from her master’s degree in library sciences, was already working in a library and had wanted to be a children’s librarian most of her life. She experienced firsthand the craziness of libraries turning their children’s sections into defacto Barnes & Nobles where obnoxious parents dumped their screaming broods and let them trash the place while wandering off for hours on end expecting the staff to be baby sitters. She quit her job and dropped out of her degree program with one class to go.
Byron, I encounter the same phenomenon at the Pool where parents just dump their kids out of their vehicles and send them into the Aquatic Center so the life-guards will babysit their kids while they go shopping.
Great story. By coincidence, I just – like FIVE MINUTES AGO – got an email from the library that my copy came in, and I downloaded it. Sounds great.
I remember George Easter telling that story.
Jeff, Diane and I donate to our local Libraries. And, I also support them by buying books at their Book Sales. Not a week goes by when Diane and I don’t visit the Library to return and take out more books. I’lm sure George Easter had a blast on that trip to examine 50,000 books!
Librarians are largely unsung heroes, bless their hearts. I have never met one who wasn’t cordial and helpful. Galls me to no end that the know-nothings have started another wave of book bans, enabled by their dark-money puppet masters. I fondly remember the mail order booksellers from years ago like Stephen Takacs and Bob Weinberg.
Reading about book banning in the USA really makes me wonder about the US democracy.
When I was a teenager I was so happy that our city librarian let me get books that nominally were for adults only – like the books that they got from the “America Institute”. I really enjoyed those.
Wolf, as Fred mentioned, Dark Money is flooding our economy funding fringe groups that cause conflict with Fake News and conspiracy theories. America’s Democracy is under attack!
Always has been, George…they’re just more desperate about it of late.
Fred, it makes my blood boil when I heard about Death Threats to librarians and booksellers!
Having worked in book, record, and other stores and in public and trade association libraries, I’d say the bookstore and public library crowds were the least obnoxious by some distance, even given the Mad Defecator we had at the Tysons Corners Borders, or at least two superannuated infants, well-struck in years, at two different store, who bleated “Why won’t anyone help me!?!” when we had two staff members, or just me, working a long line of customers at the registers and asking him (in both cases) for a few minutes’ patience.
Todd, I recall telling my daughter, when she arrived home excited about being hired at BLOCKBUSTER (remember them?), “Now you’ll learn about dealing with The Public.” And…she sure did!