Interview with a Bookstore: The King’s English
What Happens When Writers Open a Bookstore
The King’s English Bookshop opened its door (there was only one, to start) on September 10, 1977. Betsy Burton and Ann Berman, booklovers and aspiring writers, thought they had it all figured out. They rented an old building with several rooms, thinking they’d write their Great American Novels in the back, emerging to sell a book or two whenever the bells on the front door jangled to announce the arrival of a customer. The women soon realized the jingling bells were not a distraction from their writing life but a welcome sound signaling the opportunity to meet new friends and talk books. The bookshop became a full-time labor of love.
What is your favorite section of the store?
Rob (Marketing Manager and Storyteller Extraordinaire): The kids’ room. We were fortunate to receive a grant from James Patterson. We’ve used the money to literally raise the roof on our children’s room, put in windows and build more shelving. Raising the roof meant exposing the furnace so we’ve turned it into a treehouse; it’s AMAZING!
What would you do if you had infinite space in the store?
Whitney (Children’s Marketing Manager): An auditorium with built-in seats so we wouldn’t have to haul chairs EVER AGAIN!
What do you do better than any other bookstore?
Rosie (Bookseller): We do what every indie bookstore does; match books to readers and remember them and their reading preferences next time they visit the store.
Who is your favorite regular?
Sue (Retired Army colonel & bookseller): Lou Borgenicht, pediatrician (and father of David Borgenicht, Quirk Books). He comes in on Mondays and Saturdays, tells us a naughty joke, and makes sure our local bulletin board is up-to-date.
What’s the craziest situation you’ve ever had to deal with in the store?
Margaret (Children’s Buyer): When a reincarnated John D. Lee showed up at our Jon Krakauer signing for Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith.
What’s your earliest memory of visiting a bookstore as a child?
Betsy (Co-Owner): Having a complete temper tantrum in the kids’ room at Sam Weller’s Zion Bookstore because my mom wouldn’t let me buy ten books. When we went to the library I was allowed ten books and I didn’t understand the difference.
If you weren't running a bookstore, what would you be doing?
Ann (Co-Owner): Gardening, writing, eating bacon, watching baseball, telling the dogs to get off the couch.
What’s been your biggest surprise about working in a bookstore?
Anne (General Manager): How much it makes me part of our community. I run into people all over Salt Lake who say hello and “How’s the bookstore?” or “I’ll see you next week at the reading” or “Look Mom, it’s the book lady!”
SLIDESHOW: The King’s English Staff Recommendations
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- NOBLE (BOOKSELLER) RECOMMENDS: These two novellas are the first that Murakami ever published in Japan. A somewhat belated coming-of-age tale about two men coming to terms with issues of love, loneliness, and mortality. In true Murakami form, they also delve further than most authors would dare into the depths of human emotion in a way that is at times uncomfortable but enlightening throughout. An absolute must-read for Murakami fans.
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- SUE (BOOKSELLER) RECOMMENDS: Jimmy’s grandfather, Keb Wisting, one of 10 remaining Alaskan natives whose first language is Tlingit, is ready to die. Jimmy, a talented high school basketball player and a shoo-in for the NBA, has suffered a terrible logging accident and will never play again. Old Keb is determined to lead Jimmy along a path that will take him back to his ancestors, teaching him the healing ways of carving a very unique canoe and returning with him to Keb’s birthplace, an area now in conflict with both the U.S. government and corporate interests. An excellent portrayal of native Alaskans.
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- KENNETH (SOCIAL MEDIA GURU) RECOMMENDS: You will never read another book quite like The Wake. It’s written in a “shadow tongue” of Old English, which may seem like a stroke of unnecessary artifice but it is in fact a brilliant feat of literary time-travel. Narrated by Buccmaster of Holland, it tells the story of one man’s confrontation with himself, his people, his history and his enemies in the face of the Norman Conquest. It’s perfect for fans of Anglo-Saxon epics.
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- BETSY (CO-OWNER) RECOMMENDS: Can a book on urban planning in the West be a terrific read? Yes, in the hands of Tim Sullivan. An urban planner and alternative transportation expert, Sullivan gets out of his car, literally, not only in several major Western cities but also while traveling between them. A series of fascinating forays into the future of our cities here in the West. He talks to planners, urban designers, and developers, but his own travels are easily as fascinating as he bikes up and down mountains, taking Greyhounds when he has to, trains when he can, delving into the history of each city, examining the changes in transportation, the ways lives are affected and the future is reshaped.
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- ANNE (GENERAL MANAGER) RECOMMENDS: Two story lines braid together: a photographer and a young women cross paths, and the local library is closing forever, the four librarians at a loss of what to do. We cheer as the librarians begin stealing the books from the soon-to-be empty building, one trunk load at a time. The photographer and the blind mathematician (yes, she’s blind) fall in love and then, like the library, things come to an end. Or do they?
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- PAULA (MYSTERY MAVEN) RECOMMENDS: What do a prosecutor, an IT nerd, and a disgraced former cop have in common? They’re planning the perfect crime, a simple cash grab that won’t be reported and could net them a cool hundred grand. The problem is there’s no such thing as the perfect crime. Also, one of the would-be criminals is a sociopath. A twisty little standalone from the author of the Hugo Marston series with an antihero you can’t help rooting for.
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- AARON (USED AND RARE BOOK BUYER) RECOMMENDS: Moving through nearly 80 years of Harriet Chance’s existence on earth, visiting all the pivotal moments that have shaped her, Evison delicately opens up the life of his novel’s namesake in a poignant homage to the quiet strength of a wife and mother whose life has flashed by, and who finds herself, all of a sudden, in her final years. Tragic, funny, and transcendent, Evison’s fourth book is a fine addition to his oeuvre.
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- RACHEL (BOOKSELLER AND LIBRARIAN) RECOMMENDS: Barry is a hoarder, though he is not able to really face his problem until his girlfriend offers him an ultimatum: clean up your apartment, and by extension, your life, or I leave. In this uproarious memoir, Barry embarks upon a project of epic proportions to sort through his cluttered possessions and his emotions regarding the things he saves. Smart and touching, it explores the connection between our relationships with our things and our relationships with other individuals.
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- BARBARA (BOOKSELLER) RECOMMENDS: Growing up in a small town in western New York State, Joyce Carol Oates was far from the acclaimed literary giant that she is today. A shy girl with a vivid imagination and an endless fascination with storytelling, she grew into one of the literary world’s most prolific writers. Her memoir frankly explores her family history and the fragility of her, and thus our, childhood memories. This is a deeply felt and deftly told memoir of an extraordinary individual.
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- VIVIAN (BOOKSELLER) RECOMMENDS: Autumn is returning to Three Pines and so is Inspector Gamache. All your favorite characters are still in the village, and are now trying to deal with the latest murder—that of a 9-year-old boy with a wild imagination and unbelievable tales of the forest. Louise Penny masterfully weaves a page-turning mystery involving old crimes and betrayals with the driving force of certain human behaviors.
