We’re deep into tourist season, for which we’re grateful. Visitors from all points pass through our doors. We love hearing their impressions of this place, and are generally happy to answer the usual and not so usual questions we’re asked.
Need directions? Restaurant recommendations? A place to rent? A job, a husband, maybe? Well, just ask your local bookseller. While Yelp, Air bnb and GPS have satisfied most, some still prefer the personal touch. So in the course of a day, we get asked everything from where’s the Tomato Lady to what to read at the beach. It’s nice to be thought of as knowledgeable, but sometimes it’s just impossible to satisfy every inquiry.
“What do you do in here all day?” someone once asked.
Another wanted to know if a certain local author would make a suitable mate. No comment!
One admired a devotional candle we display near spirituality books. The candle’s not for sale, I explained, but could be found in the supermarket. “But which aisle would they be in?”
One sunny weekend, a woman burst in. “Hellooo?” she called. “Where’s the best place to buy steak?” That’s a new one, we thought …and we don’t even eat red meat. I wondered how to parlay this into a book sale. Recommend Omnivore’s Dilemma? Instead I suggested the butcher at Schiavoni’s Market. I gave directions to the shop. “But I don’t regularly buy steak,” I confessed. She seemed disappointed. “Then where’s the best place to buy fish?”
Has a bookseller helped you with a non-book-related question? Let us know.
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