Yes, today I’m celebrating April 26th – Independent Bookstore Day.
As readers of, Never, Never, Hardly Ever know, I worked in retail for over a decade from 1983 – 1993. Our store, Frankie Robinson Oriental Gallery, was located on “Antiques Row” in Vancouver. We were surrounded by other antique stores. Competition was fierce among the independent merchants. Toss in a big box antique firm with deep pockets and many outlets? Ooph. It would have been a real struggle.
I’m Grateful For These Independent Book Stores
I’m just so grateful for the support, Never, Never, Hardly Ever is getting from independent book stores on Vancouver Island. if you live or visit there, I encourage you to pop into:
Ivy’s Bookshop in Oak Bay The Mulberry Bush Book Store in Qualicum Beach, Bolen Books in Victoria and Blue Heron Books In Comox.
In honor of Independent Book Store Day, I have a suggestion for you. Entitled by Cookie Boyle.
It’s the story told from the perspective of a book seeking to find a home.
Bill Baker of BB&Co Storytelling sums it up this way: “If Toy Story,” “The Art of Travel,” and “Sense and Sensibility” had a lovechild, it would be this refreshing novel.”
I found it quirky, imaginative and really well written.
An Interview with Cookie Boyle
Cookie and I met up recently and she kindly agreed to answer a few questions.
What sparked the concept of writing from a book’s perspective?
The idea came to me while reading an article about a bookstore that left books on park benches, bus stops and other public places, with a message to read the book, and pass it on. The story spoke about people delighting in finding the books. But I thought: How do the books feel? And in that moment, I knew I had to write a book from a book’s perspective.
I love how the Book has agency. It can affect change. The plot moves along, sometimes by actions taken by the Book. How did you decide to do this?
I knew our Book couldn’t just sit and wait for the world to pass it by. That wouldn’t make for an interesting story. So I thought a lot about how books could move. We’ve all seen a book fall off a shelf, or off a table, so I came up with ways a book could possibly (and plausibly) move when no Human was looking.
Your story is one of Book yearning to find its forever home. As Book declares, its fictional history is of a young woman’s war against social expectations. What inspired you to create and make this the subject of Book?
I wanted our Book (the narrator) to learn from its own story. I wanted to parallel the stories we are born with (meaning our family history, culture, social parameters) and the stories we yearn to tell for ourselves. If we didn’t know where we came from, would we be different people? The story within the novel needed to parallel our Book’s journey in some way, so our Book could draw from the story within it – a metaphor for our own social histories.
An Author’s Revelation I Can Relate To …
Entitled’s book is called The Serendipity of Snow. Book notes it took it’s author, Tessa MacDonald, three years to write, nine months to rewrite, six months to secure an agent, three months for the agent to sell to a publisher, four months of rewrites for the editor, and another nine months of planning and printing, before it was born. Was your process as hefty?
My process was both longer, and shorter than that description, as there was a lot of stopping and starting. I had the idea for the novel and began writing it. I attended Banff Centre for the Arts and an online novel writing program through Humber College. Both were extremely helpful. Then I thought: I’m not the person to write this. A PhD in comparative literature should be telling this story. So I stopped writing it for a long time. Finally, it came to me that I didn’t need to write a story for academics to compare genres. Instead, I needed to write a story that I would enjoy, that was accessible, and I hope funny. I wanted to share the joy and lessons of travel and living elsewhere, so the places our Book travels are the places I’ve lived.
We All Need A Gentle Nudge Now and Then
It was during the pandemic that my husband said, basically, “finish the book.” With his edits and our collective determination, we got it to the finish line. It was published during the pandemic, and I hoped it would remind people of the joy of travel.
As a debut author, I relate to the reference on page 241 when Book refers to it being a first novel, filled with flaws which is also part of the charm. Will there be a second?
Yes, I liked that reference too! I am working on a second novel, called The Arkive. It also provides a perspective on Humans that we don’t always see. I hope it’s funny and thought provoking. And I hope it’s finished next year.
Okay, dear readers, enough reading about Celebrating April 26th – Independent Bookstore Day. It’s time to act. Pop into your local independent bookstore and pick up a book or six …
Remember, if the book you want isn’t at the bookstore, you can always ask them to order it in.
