In this month’s Meet the Bookseller column we chat with Lou Ryan, our fabulous Carlton shop manager! We talk about how a conversation with a friendly bookseller began her life-long career in publishing, how a 1980s bookstore compares to those of 2021, and what she’s been reading lately.

Why did you decide to work in books?

I was a directionless and underemployed 24-year-old who loved reading. I visited The Paperback bookshop in Melbourne and cross-examined bookseller Sally Madsen (whose next job was at Readings Carlton!) on jobs in the book trade. I was interested in the publishing side. She suggested becoming a sales rep, which I did. I cannot believe I was even interviewed for the role, given my lack of experience, but they loved the fact that I had recently held a ticketed party at the Melbourne City Baths with over 500 guests. (The Baths’ first and last party….) They decided I could sell anything.

What is your favourite part of your job?

It’s a triangle - Colleagues, Customers, Books.

What is the weirdest thing to happen to you in a bookshop?

Recently, I was shelving books and a customer whacked me across the back. She was with a group of friends and they saw I had a huge huntsman spider crawling on me. They conferred and decided the best approach was to deal with it rather than tell me. I love customers.

What is something new you’ve observed in bookselling over the years?

Computers and a lack of ashtrays; in the 80s we had ashtrays along the counter so we could share a ciggie with a customer and chat about books. We also had no computers, just a box of index cards with a handwritten title and ISBN on it. We did stock checks using physical catalogues rather than running reports!

Tell us about an Australian book that made a significant impact on you.

I loved A Fraction of the Whole - to the level where I have a few international editions and some proof copies as well. It was such a wild, exciting voice and a rollicking rollercoaster read. It is fun and clever and it made me laugh hard. And it’s Australian.

What’s the best book you’ve read lately and why?

I just read Echolalia by Briohny Doyle, which will be released early June. It’s a wonderful and terrifying novel of a family with stretched relationships, it seems to subtly question the way we live now and our impact on the planet. It feels like a gentle yet frightening warning. Briohny Doyle is a beautiful storyteller and this is her first novel.

I also just read and loved We Were Not Men by Campbell Mattinson, publishing in July.

What books are sitting on your bedside table right now?

• Miles Allinson’s (Readings staff member) new book In Moonland. Halfway through and loving it.
  

• Let Me Tell You What I Mean - Joan Didion
  

• The Other Black Girl - Zakiya Dalila Harris
  

• Once There Were Wolves - Charlotte McConaghy
  

• Dropbear - Evelyn Araluen
  

Plus heaps more, but those five are at the top!