Just came back from a flying visit to the Bay and noticed this newcomer in the local shopping centre: "The Good Reader". Couldn't help myself taking a photo of it even before it's opening in late July as I don't like its chances of survival.
It reminds me of the bookseller who wins ten million dollars in the lottery. His ecstatic friends ask him what he plans to do with the money. With a huge smile on his face, he answers: "I'll keep selling books until the money runs out!" I'm sure Annette Freeman of the former "Tea in the Library" could relate to that.
We've had two previous bookshops in the Bay: the Bay Bookshop and Hooked on Books, the latter being the final reincarnation of a series of make-overs and take-overs, including the trusted old name of Angus & Robertson.
So who's behind this latest triumph of hope over experience? According to ASIC's records, an out-of-towner by the name of Yvonne Hayes who already runs a lovely-looking bookshop at Bowral - see here.
She's now advertising for a part-time sales assistant - who presumably should be a 'Good Reader' - on her still barricaded new shopfront. Perhaps I should apply myself? I've always wanted to sit in a cosy upholstered armchair by a cash register, reading my favourite book, and occasionally ringing up a profitable sale.
Marty Feldman at his best
Of course, there would always be the odd difficult customer. I think I could handle the one who wants a David Copperfield with one 'p' but I'd probably strangle the first customer who'd ask for a Stephen King or Dan Brown or Wilbur Smith. As for anyone wanting a Mills & Boon, I'd probably be doing something totally unmentionable to them.
P.S. George Orwell wrote, not surprisingly since he at one time worked as a part-time assistant at Booklover's Corner in London's Hampstead, the charming essay Bookshop Memories.
