Chloe Hooper (a bookseller in Melbourne) is quoted as saying "A good bookseller should be part psychic, part co-conspirator, part matchmaker, and someone who, though a passionate reader, never makes you feel ill-read or possessed of inferior taste."
I need me such a gem but alas, they are so hard to come by! The real world finds me dealing with well intentioned (or not) teenagers at a chain bookshop who haven't the first clue about J.D Salinger. Ironic I know. Go to a good niched bookshop you say? I would except I'm a college student with limited means and I can't help but notice that niched out shops are often the most expensive. Either way, it breaks my heart to think that there won't be any good bookshops to say nothing of booksellers by the time my future kids are old enough to read. But this way lies melancholy. And in the interest of living in the moment, I propose this to be all the more reason to appreciate the near extinct species of book courtesans or IBS - the Ideal Bookseller. Heres to many many more years of you!
