Monday, February 1, 2016

Who buys a bookstore?


     On her 16th birthday, a high school junior named Allison Brown walked into the Book Bin and got a job as a clerk. Eventually she rose to store manager and now, 39, she became the Northbrook store's owner.
     That caught my attention. I've been a loyal Book Bin customer for 15 years, since moving to the leafy suburban paradise. As I amble on my rounds, from grocery to hardware store to post office, like the bear in a Richard Scarry children's book, I pop in to chat, buying books that catch my eye or are recommended. 

     I had to know: it's hard enough to find somebody who buys books, nowadays: what kind of person buys a bookstore?
     The same kind, it turns out, who walked in 23 years ago to get a job at one. She was not particularly bookish.


To continue reading, click here. 

4 comments:

  1. Before I even read the column, the layout of the store reminded me of the time a few years ago that I found the book "The Speckled People" because it was lying on the counter when I went to ask a question. I never would have known it existed otherwise. It's an intriguing memoir of the author's boyhood in Dublin where he spoke German in the kitchen, Irish in the living room and English on the streets.

    john

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  2. How is this bookstore doing now? And will miss R. Simons columns. See ST retirement.

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