Librarians & Booksellers – Loving Books!

As publishers, we love books and reading—books can educate, enlighten, inspire and entertain, introduce new worlds and experiences, engage your imagination, exercise your brain, provide advice and even solace if needed. Therefore, as you might guess, we appreciate the work that librarians and booksellers do to keep books alive and out there!

Bestselling author James Patterson recently wrote a book titled The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians. Last week, Publishers Weekly posted a Q&A with him about his new book—I’d like to share some excerpts below:

In the popular imagination, librarians and booksellers are commonly seen as being mild-mannered introverts who lead quiet lives. What made you decide to take on this stereotype? Reading may be a solitary act, but engaging with books and with readers is social. It takes confidence to select the books people will want to read. And it takes conviction to promote them—talking them up to store customers or library patrons or online and saying, “This is what you’re looking for. Trust me. I think you’re going to love this.” Then readers come back and say, “Okay, what else you got?”….

What’s the most prevalent misunderstanding about booksellers and librarians? Oh, you’re a librarian. Oh, you’re a bookseller. You guys must just sit around reading, drinking tea, and talking about Dickens all day. None of the above! Nobody cares more about books than booksellers and librarians. The knowledge these folks have is amazing. And sure, they got into the profession because they love books. But these talented people aren’t just sitting around reading during work hours. They’re doing so much more: buying, receiving, shelving, cleaning, story time, social media. Libraries and bookstores are major parts of their neighborhoods, running all kinds of community programs and gatherings….

What are the key qualities that make a person decide to devote their lives to finding great books and telling others about them? Curiosity. Enthusiasm. Commitment. Vision. These are professionals on a mission to get people of all ages excited about books and reading. They’re doing work they could continue for the rest of their lives. Work that is crucial to everyday life. We all want to feel proud of our profession. Booksellers and librarians should feel very proud….

What is “book joy” and how can we get more of it in our lives? “Book Joy” is an expression coined by a librarian in northern Texas to describe that great feeling of matching readers with the books that will bring them the most happiness. It’s the feeling that was shared by so many booksellers and librarians, who told us that their favorite part of their jobs was putting the right book into the right hands at the right time—making the kind of match that inspired readers to come back again and again and again. To get more “book joy,” keep turning those pages. 

Read the entire PW Q&A with James Patterson online or in pdf….

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There you have it! If you like our books, please talk them up with your local libraries and bookstores—and with your friends! Word of mouth is the best sort of advertising. Sponsor events—we have some live multimedia presentations that we can bring to you about Poland in World War II, based on our books or our mission, or we can work with you to design something that fits your needs. Just email us or give us a call!