Bookshop by Eric Beetner

 Thinking about an ideal bookshop is such a pleasant exercise. Immediately I picture a warm, inviting space and that is a testament to all the previous bookshops I’ve been into. I do think there is maybe a difference between something one would describe a bookshop vs. a bookstore. It’s subtle, but it’s there.

First, a bookshop in my mind is independently owned by someone with a passion for books and not necessarily big bucks. Ideally it is tucked away in some small town, maybe in a building with some history. I like a bookshop with many rooms. You walk in the door and then move deeper into the space, getting lost a little. That’s definitely part of the fun.

In Westport, CT. where I lived for a while as a kid there was a place called The Remarkable Bookshop. It was housed in a 18th century colonial that they painted pink and it became iconic in our little town. The floors creaked, there were steps down or up into and out of rooms that you just knew people tripped over all the time. But it was magical. It opened in 1963 but of course it is long gone now. 

Maybe the most important thing for my ideal bookshop is it has to have a cat. I’m allergic to cats, but I’d still want one in every bookshop. When I walk into a bookshop and see a cat I know I’m in a good place.

I like a good ‘Staff Picks’ shelf or table. I like to know the staff is invested. Any great bookshop should be a place where you can go in not having a clue what you’re going to come out with and end up with a passionate pitch from a worker who truly loves a book they are trying to get into your hands.

Well delineated sections are good. There is a charm to browsing through a mish-mash of books looking for a diamond, but somehow that feels more at home in a used bookstore. Couldn’t say why, but in a used store the chaos is part of the charm. But if you have a special corner you return to each time you enter a favorite bookshop then you immediately know what is new, what’s being featured and what you should be looking at next. It becomes a personal, familiar space for you whether it’s the Mystery section, Romance or Horror. 

Any bookshop owner will tell you they can’t survive on book sales alone. I like to see puzzles in a bookshop. We’re so often the same demographic. Little book-themed tchotchkes and gift-y items are always welcome. 

I don’t drink coffee (I know, a writer who doesn’t drink coffee or alcohol - I’m a disgrace to the profession) but I do love a little coffee bar inside a store. That and comfy seating is a welcome invite to sit and browse. It is letting you know they are not trying to rush you out and get on with the next sale. I don’t love the people who take advantage of the seating and never buy a book, but bookshops don’t judge, only other customers. And more than a few books have been know to be written on a comfy couch in a cozy bookshop.

I like a good playlist, but music in a bookshop should be calm and I prefer instrumental. If I set foot in a bookshop and see a cat, hear some jazz and smell coffee I am in heaven.

Last, in my ideal bookshop I’d see myself behind the counter, recommending books, scheduling readings with authors I love, checking out the new releases and smiling at my wife as we settle in to our new life as small town bookshop owners who are poor, yes, but happy. In my vision she has a coffee in hand, I have my allergy meds and we both love hearing the sound of the bell over the door ring when a new book lover enters what I hope is their favorite bookshop.