Why we work in books

Savannah Indigo, Bookseller at Readings Malvern:

When I was younger, I had a fascination with organising bookshelves. I would obsess over mine at home and reorganise any shelves at bookshops that I thought weren’t up to scratch (much to staff frustration). I think from around age 10, I knew that I needed to work with books.

Marie Matteson, Bookseller at Readings Carlton:

I feel I’ve been surrounded by books my whole life and it seems entirely natural to me that I would end up working among them. There’s a photo I have of the Christmas when I was five and I’m sitting on top of a copy of Edward Gibbon’s History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that I had just received from my dad. What chance did I have?

Miles Allinson, Bookseller at Readings St Kilda:

Basically, I’m unqualified to do much else. After studying for 25 years (or what feels like it), the only other thing I’m really qualified to do is throw leaves around and prank-call people. Also, I have a functional addiction to books. I like how they smell.

Kushla Egan, Bookseller at Readings Carlton:

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.

Gabrielle Williams, Bookseller at Readings Malvern:

Working in a bookshop is like conducting my own mini-marketing research every day. As a writer, I’m fascinated by what motivates readers to choose certain books. Is it zeitgeist, word of mouth, reviews, literary awards? What? So every day I get to go to work and talk to customers about books, while secretly grilling them on their book-buying habits.

Stella Charls, Bookseller at Readings Carlton:

I started reading books when my parents threw out our TV. I was three years old, and I think I remember them destroying it (maybe even burning it in the backyard) because I’d developed a dangerous TV obsession. Luckily, reading proved equally addictive. It’s said we’re experiencing the ‘Golden Age of Television’ at the moment, which makes getting through the stack of books on rotation next to my bed a constant challenge. However, it’s such a pleasure to come to work and be surrounded by people, both staff and customers, who truly love to read. Their enthusiasm is contagious and definitely inspires me to read more widely.

Kate Campbell, Bookseller at Readings Hawthorn:

I love my job at Readings for so many reasons. It’s wonderful to be surrounded by beautiful books at work; oh, and it’s always exciting, albeit a little overwhelming, to see the new releases come through each month. Predominantly, it’s because I like speaking with customers and helping them find books they’re looking for. I also really enjoy my colleagues at Readings – they’re an interesting bunch, you know! Best of all, I like the atmosphere of collegiality which exists between staff and customers – there’s a sense that we’re in this thing together.

Deborah Crabtree, Bookseller at Readings Carlton:

I’m told I’m a machine when it comes to reading: working in books allows me to feed the machine. Books are my addiction, and while I’d ideally love to be spending my days writing and reading books, bookselling keeps me plugged into the literary world and allows me to talk about books ad infinitum.

Cover image for The Gruffalo's Child

The Gruffalo’s Child

Julia Donaldson

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