Meet the Bookseller with Kushla Egan
We chat with bookseller Kushla Egan about Laini Taylor’s haunting fairytales, dreams of being Eloise and refreshing feminist perspectives on Australia.
Why do you work in books?
I have always loved a) books and b) telling people what to do/read. As I grew older, working with what I love just made sense. There is rarely a time where I see myself doing anything else – I get to work with new titles every day and am allowed a really diverse customer interaction. There is much to discuss, read and, most importantly, shelve.
What’s something new you’ve observed in bookselling?
I work mostly with children’s books, and a very recent change I have observed is a shift in young adult readers’ interests, moving away from the fantasy genre to more realistic and dystopian fiction. Readers seem to want more ‘real life’ stories, à la John Green. I am really hoping for witches and the like to make a strong comeback.
What book would you happily spend a weekend indoors with?
Being the YA reader I am, Laini Taylor’s Lips Touch: Three Times. This is a stunning collection of three short stories based on various mythologies, which read as haunting fairytales. I loved Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, and decided to order this, an earlier work of hers in a hardback edition, on the bet it would be the good stuff. Oh yes, how right I was – I also found the most intricate illustrations of each tale within, making the book a real work of art.
Describe your own taste in books.
My taste is pretty broad. I can happily go from reading a cheesy YA book one week to some rigid non-fiction the next. I recently read Night Games by Anna Krien, but admittedly balanced it out with Veronica Roth’s new Divergent series that same week.
Name a book that has changed the way you think, in ways small or large.
Kay Thompson’s Eloise. Ever since I was six I have dreamt of being a rich brat, with no parents to speak of, living in New York doing whatever the heck I want. No, really, I still have my copy on my bedside table.
Your job entails recommending good reads: how do you balance personal taste with customer nous?
I genuinely like asking customers what they’re into and what they like, so it is easy to see straight off if I have any really good books that I think they would like themselves. If not, being at Readings, I can easily direct them to a staff member who I think has similar taste, or better knowledge of what they’re into.
What’s the best book you’ve read lately?
I just read Destroying the Joint, edited by Jane Caro; with the current state of affairs (Abbott), I found it refreshing and motivating to read these feminist perspectives on Australia.
Who has the best book cover?
Around the World with Mouk by Marc Boutavant. The child inside of me screams every time I see this book. It comes with stickers, you see.