Spring Road Trip - Part 2

Continuing the adventures of our intrepid trio…

Almost certainly up to no good

Carrie: I was generously informed of climbing opportunities by my co-enabler bookish buddy from Iowa. 

Liz: Carrie and her buddy were being very vague and secretive about climbing. Did Carrie climb on this trip? The world may never know. 

Matthew:  The food in this town!  Every meal was delicious.  Though I have thoughts about the biscuits and gravy I was served… It was good, but it wasn’t biscuits and gravy.  There were biscuits and a sauce that I suppose was technically a gravy.  

Carrie: Also Liz had the world’s largest cinnamon roll. 

Liz: Still in a food coma. 

Carrie: And we are all still eating cheese. 

The first full day of conferencing was a whirlwind. I’m not sure what happened on which day at this point, but there were authors, publishers, education sessions, craft projects, idea storms, and more. 

Liz: I was back in my art teacher era when the crafts came out. We got to meet an author of a children’s book and her illustrator. It was so cool getting to hear about both of their very different processes and collaboration while creating the book. 

Carrie: All of this mixed in with more valuable time spent braining with the many fabulous friends we have in the bookselling world. To say that I love these people is an understatement. It is an industry like none other, and every conversation left me with more notes and more ideas and more . . . well more. I also split off the first evening and had the joy of being pulled into Leslie’s music studio. Leslie is co-owner of Republic of Letters, the bookshop in town and they live conveniently across the street. She snagged Shane (from Left Bank) and I off the sidewalk and shared some piano playing, singing, as well as a traditional instrument from the southern Philippines that she is learning. It was the pre-dinner concert I didn’t know I needed, and she let us give it a try!

Matthew: All the rumors you’ve heard about the fast paced and dangerous lifestyle of the Indie Bookseller are true.  It was a wild haze of books and booksellers and…book related things that booksellers can read or sell.  And cheese.  Much cheese.  

Carrie: I perhaps brought home seven pounds of cheese. 

Matthew: This is now a cheese post. 

Liz: I see nothing wrong with that. 

Matthew: Tony Hook is one of the world’s premiere cheesemakers and has won all kinds of awards.

Liz: We didn’t actually realize we had spoken to Tony until the next day. He was such a sweet and humble man. 

Matthew: I’m not going to search what all the awards are, but it was all so good. 

So, anyway, books.  I know it sounds disingenuous to say that every session was incredible, but each one was truly interesting and practical.  But what stood out most to me are the sessions where other booksellers came together and talked about what works for our shops.  This is going to be pretty mind blowing, but what works is having awesome customers that love books. (Also there was a lot of stuff that was incredibly helpful to learn, but not thrilling for a blog post.  If you want proof come by and ask Liz about store organizational methods based on store and staff size) 

Liz: I like organization. Sue me. 

Carrie: Awesome customers, great books, plus a stellar staff. It was fabulous to watch my fellow Bookshop people witness just how wonderful Liz and Matthew are.  

Matthew:  We really are wonderful.  Especially me. 

Carrie: It is what it is.

Matthew: Also, whatever Liz has said she loved the most is a lie unless she said getting free books. 

Liz: I took home two whole tote bags full of books. No, I do not have a problem. Everyone else who didn’t bring home tote bags full of books has the problem.

To be continued…