Connecting Books & Readers

I started working at Booklegger when I was 20. Almost 40 years later, I am now the bookstore’s sole proprietor and still love my work.

It’s not just about the books. Of course bookstore people love to read, but the thing that makes my job so satisfying is the readers themselves. I have come to think of bibliophiles as part of some sort of ephemeral extended network, and to view books as a conduit for connection.

I see the ways that books can connect us daily. Like the busy Saturday when a woman sought me out to help her find a book that would be a comforting distraction for her friend, who was beginning cancer treatment. I asked about her friend’s interests and learned that she was a serious horsewoman. I showed her some novels by Jane Smiley before being called away. “Life-transforming ideas have always come to me through books.”

A minute later, another woman who had overheard my conversation asked if I thought it would be OK for her to talk to the customer. She said she owned horses herself and had just finished chemo, so she had some suggestions to share.

Touched by her generosity, I introduced the two. They talked animatedly. Our customer left the store with a stack of novels for her friend, well curated by a person she’d just met.

We have regulars who have grown up coming to Booklegger and now bring their own children in to shop with us, and we meet travelers from all over the world. I recently had an interesting conversation with a Singaporean couple who bought a big bag of books to take back home with them on the plane — the bookstores in Singapore did not have our variety, they said.

They were in awe of the Avenue of the Giants and told me that we in Humboldt are very blessed to live with such beauty. They promised that they would be back.

For me, the best experiences are when we find the exact right book for a reader, one that satisfies their literary cravings and expands their worldview. And when someone who is newly literate — whether a child or an adult — asks us for help finding something they can read and love — that is an honor that we take seriously.

When you can read, you have the keys to the kingdom, and for a bookseller, it is soul-satisfying to see the door swing open.

Jen McFadden is owner of Booklegger, an independent bookstore at 2nd & E streets in Old Town Eureka. Find Booklegger on Facebook or call 707-445-1344.