So... What Kinds of Books do Booksellers Buy?

In honor of our Employee Shopping Day, I though I'd finally put this post up. A while ago, I interviewed a bunch of coworkers because of a question that I get from customers all the time: You obviously love books if you work at a bookstore– how do you not spend your whole paycheck right here? How can you hold yourself back?

I know, however, that we don't spend our whole paycheck on books. As Jason reminded me, “Yeah, for the first few weeks, when you realize you've got an employee discount, you just buy stacks and stacks. And then you realize: oh, right. Bills.” But more than that, I think booksellers are particularly picky about what books we buy. We're around books all the time, and browse a lot, and are usually pretty devoted library patrons. It seems like only the cream of the crop make the cut to come all the way home and sit on the shelf, permanently. There's only so much shelf space in a book lover's home, although I actually know of some great workarounds fellow booksellers use– storing books in a never-used oven, for example, or making piles of books into bedside or coffee tables.

So I asked people what books they absolutely have to buy. What kinds of books can you not help yourself around? What takes a book from a library list to the employee hold shelf? Is it genre, emotional attachment, physical beauty? There were a lot of answers, some that popped up repeatedly, some very unique ones. When I tried to pull them all together in one cohesive post, it was impossible. So instead, I'm going to spread 'em out over a few posts.

#1 – Self interview (Anna, in Kids)

I love to buy autographed books. Some people couldn't care less, but I love to see that mark–or inscription, even better–and know that the author held the book, touched it. In the time I've worked here I've gotten signed copies from (among many others) John Green, Lois Lowry, Jon Scieszka, and Judy Blume. (I got Forever, okay? Life-changer.) The other place where I have no self-control is with beautiful old used children's books. If it's from the 1950s or earlier, if it has line drawing illustrations, or color plates, or deckle edges, or a leather cover, or some funny outdated language in the title, it's only a matter of time before it comes home with me.

More to come...

Good Morning, Thursday

• The New York Times blog Papercuts asks Aleksandar Hemon about his favorite music.

• Jeffrey Eugenides (who, if the photo that accompanies this piece is to be believed, works part time at a Jiffy Lube) was fired by the Academy of American Poets for writing on the job. The Virgin Suicides, his fantastic first novel, is 16 this year.

• The fall promises some incredible fiction from some powerhouse authors. Will it help a down industry? (We certainly hope so.)

• Bookshelves of Doom embeds this video of Will Arnett (GOB from Arrested Development!) reading from Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume.

• Indie author Shane Jones has sold the film rights to his amazing little book Light Boxes to Spike Jonze. (Shane and I share a publisher, and I'm ecstatic for him. I was an early advocate of that book, and seeing it go from the manuscript Shane emailed to me to its long search for a publisher to print to small press success to a possible film by some very creative filmmakers is heartening.)

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Tonight University Book Store Bellevue will be out at the Bellevue Regional Library to sell books for David Morrell and his book Shimmer. The Seattle Times reviewed the paranormal thriller here. The fun starts at 7pm.