From the Island Books blog June 26, 2020 So our doors are open. We can better serve the public. You can buy what is on our shelves directly, instead of through Instagram or our website. That is fantastic! But, your books are still taking weeks if not months to get here. We aren’t able to …
by Bart King for www.orgeonlive.com, Jan. 13, 2018 The boy was nose-deep in a book about a narwhal, and he wasn’t about to hand it over. “You need to put that on the counter so I can buy it, Jack,” said his mother. Jack’s knuckles whitened as he shot us a distrustful look. “But …
Two women recently came into Annie Bloom’s and approached me with a request that you don’t hear very often these days. “Do you have a phonebook?” one of them asked. In fact, we DO have phonebooks available behind the counter, both white and yellow pages, although until that moment I’d never had a reason to …
Have you heard the kerfluffle about Amazon’s delivery drone project? Many indie bookstores have gotten questions and comments from customers. At Queen Anne Book Company, I told a customer, “We’re not looking into drones, but if you live on my walk home and call at the end of my shift, I can get your purchase to …
A consequence of working at Annie Bloom’s is that I’ve developed two personalities. BookLover Jeff is gregarious, always happy to start open-ended conversations with customers, and sometimes has trouble knowing when it’s time to shut up. BookSeller Jeff is pragmatic, maintains an awareness of what’s happening in every aisle, and is always careful not to …
