It’s day one for the husband and me in our fortnight as booksellers-in-residence at the Open Book in Wigtown. I blogged about the background to our involvement in this project here. The shop is well-stocked and has an eclectic selection of second-hand books. Outside, it’s been a bitterly cold day with snow flurries, but the shop is cosy. We had four visitors to the shop this morning and then while I nipped up to the flat for a bit of lunch, the husband had six more people come in and he made a sale.
As I write this just after 4p.m. we’ve had a total of thirteen people in for a browse. One lady – an artist – was looking for hardbacks with no pictures or photos and with page edges in good condition. The subject matter wasn’t important. This was an intriguing brief! It turned out she does paper-folding using old books. She didn’t have much time to browse, so I said I’d pick some out for her and to come back when she has more time. There’s now a small bundle awaiting her inspection.
Husband has done a tidy up of the science-fiction section and I’ve made a start on the children’s section, but it’s going to take a few days I reckon to get it a bit more child-friendly.
So a fairly busy and productive start.
What a great idea to try a new experience! I think it’s quite brave to step out of your comfort zone in a new place and setting but as it’s only temporary there’s less pressure so it’s the perfect adventure. To be surrounded by books and meet new people will surely inspire your writing Anne so who knows how this trip will work its way into a future story. Looking forward to reading more about your time in the bookshop.Enjoy. 🙂
Yes, Helen, it’s a good balance of adventure and low stress. Certainly hope to be inspired 🙂 Thank you.
Well done on a great start, Anne! I’m going to really enjoy reading about your progress. 🙂 xx
Thanks, Elle.
Ah! You’ve arrived and have gotten started. And it sounds a most brilliant beginning. I’m hope you’re getting a little writing time in, or at least some inspiration for the new novel. I’m looking forward to following the two week adventure. Hope you’re having fun, Anne. Cheers!
Thanks, Shelley. No writing time so far, but lots of ideas floating about.
This sounds like a fun experience. It’s not very busy, though. Sounds like you have plenty of time to get things organized the way you think it should be done. Does each new shopkeeper reorganize it? 🙂 I love the fact that you have to blog about it as well.
Each new shopkeeper is expected to take a section to reorganise – one that’s not already been done 🙂 It is proving to be fun, but it’s surprisingly tiring organising books all day. Thanks for your comments, Marsha. So nice to have you here.
What a great time! I’ll keep watching for updates. 🙂
I love organizing books. It must be good doing something so different.
[…] But it wasn’t all work and no play. In March, me and the husband enjoyed a fortnight away in Wigtown (south-west Scotland) where we were volunteer booksellers-in-residence at the Open Book, bookshop. This was an exciting project to be involved in as the people of Wigtown attempted to keep this small independent bookshop open. I blogged about it here. […]