Bookshop Stuff

The bookshop interior.

I feel that the world of book-selling is viewed with a million misconceptions. Countless people have mentioned to my boss how marvellous and peaceful it must be to run a bookshop, how they'd love to get away from their busy lives and do the same as him. These people clearly don't know what they're talking about. In fact, it's a little insulting- like saying, "You don't really do anything, do you?"

It's not a bloody retreat! You don't just potter about, shelving things and sitting behind the till having a chat. It is an actual job. Ordering, returns, talking to publishing reps, unboxing and adding to the system, going through sales reports, organising events, stock taking, customer orders, keeping up with new publications, dealing with nightmare customers, community stuff, and even more if you actually run them. Stuff I can't even imagine: tax things, bank stuff, being available all the time to talk about the business with random people or sort out employees' issues. It's really not that simple.

Obviously there are good bits too, or it wouldn't be worth doing. You get to look at books directly they're available, become friends with the nicer customers, and feel like you're helping with something important: getting someone just the right book, helping children learn to read, all that sort of thing. 

Plus it allows for some interesting stories...