An Alphabetical Life :: Wendy Werris
292 pages, Carol & Graf 2006, Paperback

This is an ode to the long-ignored, underappreciated bookseller. A profession Wendy Werris stumbled into when she was hired at the legendary Pickwick Bookstore in LA on September 2, 1970. It traces her journey from a lowly sales person to publishers' sales rep with snippets of her family along the way.

Wendy was selling books in an era when indie bookstores still dotted the US landscape, providing personal service and in-depth knowledge of their products, before they were engulfed by the mega stores we see today. These small bookstores had a personality and larger-than-life, generous book buyers who became her friends. Many remained close even as their bookstores folded or were bought over by the corporate giants.

There's a hilarious moment at a Microsoft Press sales conference. Mac-user Wendy, determined to show up a presenter, inserted foot-in-mouth by asking, "So tell me - will Microsoft be launching a Macintosh version of this Windows software upgrade?"

A thoroughly enjoyable book that well deserves its place on the bookshelf of all bibliophiles.

Now reading: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Labels: Books, Bookshelf