By Carol Ann Robb, PPL Reference Librarian
Prior to my time at PPL, I worked as a bookseller. In many ways, I’m still selling books but don’t take money for the goods I hand over. There are many similarities to the two positions– ordering books, answering questions, giving reading recommendations—and it provided excellent training for my position here. Booksellers and librarians are definitely cut from the same cloth.
Which is probably why I enjoy reading books about bookstores. In a sense, it feels a bit like going back to my roots. One of the first to catch my attention, “The Storied Life of AJ Fikry” by Gabrielle Zevin, continues to be one of my favorite all-time reads. I’ve not seen the movie version of it—I really doubt that it can be as good as the book and I’ve not read any of her other novels for the same reason.
Oh—and I can’t forget “The Bookish Life of Nina Hill” by Abbi Waxman, another of my favorites and and the darkhorse title in our March Book Madness.
There are many more titles but if you want to get the real scoop on running a bookstore, I invite you to join us for next Thursday’s Cup of Conversation with Books & Burrow owner Darcie Shultz. She will talk about what brought her to Pittsburg to open a bookstore (a daunting task), the importance of local businesses, and future plans for her store.
This is a relaxed, comfortable way to meet folks in our community and enjoy a warm beverage, and tasty treats. And you’ll definitely want to be here for the big announcement for next month’s program so you can mark your calendars (here’s a teaser: it’s being held earlier than usual to beat the holiday rush).