I’m in love with this question list, thank you for for asking darling! 💖
1. Tell me about that imaginary bookshop you dream about running.
Ok, this got long, apologies in advance! So like The Last Bookstore (in LA) meets Bart’s Books (in Ojai) meets the Harbor from Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea?
The feeling of never-ending miles of shelves and curiosities from the Harbor, and the sense of stepping into a space not quite part of the world you’re used to. I’m in love with little corridors off the beaten path and armchairs tucked into secluded corners. From The Last Bookstore, I’ll take the inspiration for art and architecture made from books. Their front counter looks like 4 feet of books stacked on top of each other, and for the life of me I can’t figure out quite how they’re all attached, because it looks like it should just topple over. Same thing goes for the book tunnel upstairs, which is both fascinating and super Instagram-able, which is why hipsters love the place. And above the staircase there’s a typewriter on a desk on the top landing, and it has pages spilling from it that are suspended in the air and curl partway down the stairs, so they’re the first thing you see when going up. And from Bart’s I’ll take the sense of coziness. It feels very peaceful and homey inside- which makes sense because it was actually a house with a central courtyard, and they just kind of removed most of the furniture, took off the doors, and put in bookshelves. Also I’m stealing their cats.
Towards the front of my store are new books, current bestsellers, etc. But everywhere else it’s used and secondhand books. I find those much more intriguing than shelves of brand new books. For certain clients, the bookstore functions as a library, because I understand that even discounted secondhand books can be expensive, and I never want money to stand in the way of someone having access to books they want. Some parts of the store may have different types of music playing- current pop quietly in the front of the store for the people who just come in for that one new 50 Shades-adjacent book. But further back, hidden in corners and hallways, snippets of a waltz, a piano nocturne, a solo violin, soft jazz, something slightly haunting that you can’t identify all the instruments in.
Tea, coffee, and cocoa are all available on request- free of charge, though donations are appreciated to help keep up the supply. There’s a little station towards the center of the store where guests can help themselves, and I make sure to do occasional rounds of the shop, checking for individuals curled in those secluded armchairs with the cats to keep them company, and I take orders. Beverages are served in mugs or cups that are somehow always matched to the book one is reading. No two mugs are alike- they’ve been donated and collected, accumulated over the years. Some of them are cracked or chipped slightly, but they are still happy to serve. Delicate china teacups and saucers for the Austen readers, unusually shaped mugs for stories like Alice in Wonderland, one printed with Calvin and Hobbes for the young man reading his way through our comic books. Later in the day, cocktails are offered in elegantly cut glasses to match, reserved for our guests of an appropriate age.
Everyone who comes in finds something they were looking for, whether they knew it or not. The perfect book, the perfect picture, the perfect tea blend, the perfect poem. The store has a bit of a mind of its own, and sometimes it knows its guests even better than its owner does.
2. Do you like reading aloud? Are you good at it?
Huge yes, I absolutely love it, especially if I’m excited about the book! I’d love to record audiobooks, too. I’m told I’m pretty good at it, too!
3. How do you organize your bookshelves?
So my bookshelves at home lost any and all hope of organization years ago- they’re stuffed to the brim, and when I ran out of normal space I just kinda started stacking them horizontally in front of the books lined up vertically lmao. But the handful I took with me that are in my apartment now are organized by size- the hardback one to the far left, then the paperback one the same size, and they get smaller going to the right. I’m also using candles for book ends to keep them upright lol
4. Tell me about that one book that you can’t remember the title of and maybe you just made it up except you remember that one specific thing so clearly.
A necklace of beaded wishes is used to make an art model have to scratch his balls so badly that he has to leave the session? 😂
5. Do you write in the margins?
Never. Sometimes I underline or mark passages with a bracket, very lightly in pencil. If there’s a note I really want to write, I’ll attach a sticky note to the page and write on that!
