The last post.

Customers continuing the heavenly theme!
What's it like working in a bookshop? As we come to the end of the year of our "A Year in the life of an independent bookseller" blog it seemed timely to reflect on my own incredibly varied and rewarding role as a bookseller.
Today is seven months since my auspicious role change from librarian to the phenomenal job satisfaction of being a Page and Blackmore bookseller. One of my customers just commented, as I handed over her book purchase, "It's heaven in a brown paper bag!"  She describes working in a bookshop succinctly and beautifully.

{Lynn}

Today has been rather vivifying

 Vivify = to impart vitality or vividness.
Peter came across 'vivify' while looking through the catalogue reviews of forthcoming books for gems to delight our customers.
After scanning our dictionaries to find the meaning of this rather wonderful verb, we decided that vivifying is a very apt word to describe a day in the bookshop!

Road testing the chairs.

We take our customers' comfort seriously in this bookstore. Today we dedicated some time to road testing the customer chairs.  Peter proved that a good keen bookseller can do the job just as well sitting down, and Lynn devoted her coffee break to the cause.  We can definitely recommend taking the time to browse with the weight off your feet.

I'm in heaven when I'm in this bookshop...

The things our customers say:  #561
We love hearing our customer comments.  Here's a pearl we overheard today:

Customer in the shop accompanied by a young adult who whispered something to her, responded:
"You can take as long as you want, I will still be here. I'm in heaven when I'm in this bookshop."

Booksellers should always listen carefully to their customers' questions.

What I heard:
Customer: "Do you have the latest Walter Matthau?"
I began searching our database for any newly published books on the actor Walter Matthau (Matthow). 
Stella, from behind the new fiction display: "No sorry, it's not out yet but it's due in next week."
Me, to myself: "HOW on earth does she keep all these facts in her head?"
What Stella heard and what the customer actually said:
"Do you have the latest Wild Tomato"?

In Albania it's a wise proverb that has no meaning. In the bookshop it's a wise customer who asks us for the unusual.

Another addition today to our list of unusual requests:

"Do you have The Bumper Book of Albanian Proverbs?"

We didn't happen to have a copy of this obscure book on our shelves.  But we were able to offer "A dictionary of Anglo-American and Albanian Proverbs".

Bzzzz .... not quite the bees' knees!

Sometimes even the best independent bookshop in New Zealand can't deliver.  Here's an excerpt from a message to a disappointed customer:

".... We have contacted the distributors who confirm they have dispatched your book and it should have been with us today.  We then contacted the courier company, and it turns out they have had a bee infestation and are currently in the process of cleaning pollen off all of their courier parcels.  Consequently there is a day's delay in delivery."

Mad Magazine Monday

Today has been a bumper day of magazines.  It was after 4pm when Peter finally got to the last of the 37 bundles.  Our magazine guru, Cherie, has been very ill and while we've convinced her that she really must take the time she needs to recover, we are certainly missing her lovely presence and her in-depth knowledge of our 400 odd magazine titles.

Joyful Sunday

Marie Kondo, the wise author of a The Life Changing Magic of Tidying book wrote: "We should only keep things that make us feel joyful when we hold them'. We think Sarah's new diary, that coincidentally matches her new handbag, made her feel joyful today.

 2015 diaries and calendars (e.g.French Country Diary 2015  Hundertwasser 2015) are now arriving into the bookshop, and going out the door again quickly.  

Te Ara Puoro: A journey into the world of Maori music.

Peter has been busy this afternoon creating a display for this wonderful new arrival:

Te Ara Puoro: A journey into the world of Maori music

Guess which author came in to the bookshop today for a first look at his namesake book?

Maurice Gee is a delightful regular visitor to the bookshop, and today we were privileged to share with him his first look at this book. The book is the first of two that pay tribute to Maurice Gee's distinctive contribution to New Zealand literature.

Maurice Gee:A Literary Companion Fiction for Young Readers

The past life of a $5 note?

What story could this note tell us about the state it was in when presented today? Money laundering perhaps. The lower edge looked beautifully ruched ... maybe from ironing?

A wall of calendars

The New Zealand 2015 calendars have arrived and are on display. There are some interesting and different calendars including Derek Smith's Hometown New Zealand and some stunning New Zealand art.

Books come in all shapes and sizes

As Sarah was beautifully gift wrapping a book for a customer today she made a hopeful observation:

"It's a good job books are square, round ones would be so hard to wrap."

Occasionally they do come in other shapes too (Tall Books;Round Books; Oddshaped Books)and we are only too happy to try our gift wrapping skills on all shapes and sizes

 

What did Peter do on day one of the Riggs' ownership?

We tracked him down by following the sounds of frustration - poor Peter had met his match with the pricing gun and had to resort to watching an online video of how to change its price tape roll.  Who else argues with and expresses frustration at these online tutorials?  To be fair, at one point the tutorial advised: "Now, take a deep breath"!

What did Peter and Susi see parading past the bookstore this morning?

We all enjoyed watching the celebrating convoy of German World Cup supporters who did a couple of laps of the CBD this morning:

Page 3 pin-up people.

Our retiring couple soon to be new owners,  Peter and Ann Rigg, featured as page 3 pin-ups in Saturday's Nelson Mail. As the accompanying article states, "Book-lovers can relax: New Zealand's best independent bookstore, Page & Blackmore Booksellers, is safe."

More of the same for bookstore

Tour de France

With the "kick off" of the Tour De France, World Cup fever is giving way to cycling frenzy.  All it took to generate some interesting conversations today, (amongst young and old) was a magazine left on the counter with a rather delectable yellow-shirted cyclist on the cover.
Among our equally interesting range of books on the subject are these gems:

 Mapping Le Tour

Tour de France: The Complete Illustrated History

A Race For Madmen

EtapeThe Untold Stories of theTour de France's Defining Stages

Out of the mouths of babes!

A delightful conversation overheard in the bookstore today, that caused mirth all round.  A father and two young children were browsing the shelves and chatting about their finds:
"Oh look Daddy! Buzzy Bee!" Younger child had spotted this book:

Flying Kiwis: A History of the OE 

"And look at this one dad!" Older child held up this book: 

Grumpy Old men

"Oh, so I suppose that's me is it?" asked dad.  "Not sure", said  older child. "At least ... you're not old!"

Don't wake the baby!

Conversation in the shop today turned to the fun of reading children's books.  Who else has been known to read them aloud without a child present, just for the sheer joy of hearing the words roll off your tongue? Or for the wry humour that only an adult can read into the story?   And then there are the almost children's books, with a sting in the tail. Adam Mansbach is the author of one.Try it sometime ... but don't do as I did and wake the baby with your laughter!