The greatest job in the literary world is accepting applications again.
Are you happy in your current book world job? Do you arise each morning with a sense of purpose? Does social isolation, political turmoil, and inclement fall weather agree with you? Can you turn up to work barefoot and go snorkeling on your lunch break?
If you answered “no” to any of the above questions then please have a seat, because I have an exciting time share employment opportunity I think you may just be interested in.
The luxury eco resort of Soneva Fushi, located on Kunfunadhoo Island in the Maldives, is in need of a “barefoot bookseller” to provide guests with bespoke recommendations for their personal “reading journeys.” The successful applicant will relocate to the idyllic island community from October to April, where they will run a small book shop, host workshops and events, and document their experiences on the Barefoot Bookseller blog.
Soneva Fushi has played host to three barefoot booksellers since the position was established, to no small amount of fanfare, in 2018. The most recent, Chrissy Ryan, left in April as the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe, but with the island recently declared “COVID-free,” the time has come to anoint a new Chosen One.
In one of her final dispatches for the Barefoot Bookseller blog (before she departed for the nearby Kingdom of Atlantis), Ryan wrote “I’ve moved 6,000 miles across the planet, left my friends and family behind me and found a whole new community on a small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I’ve tested my boundaries and rediscovered my sense of self.”
Now, when I hear “tested my boundaries” with regard to mysterious paradisiacal islands, I think of a young Leo DiCaprio playing beach soccer, tussling with ornery sharks, and disturbing a bioluminescent ecosystem with his nighttime lovemaking in Danny Boyle’s The Beach. He had a grand old time on his island adventure, and so could you.
All you have to do is apply…
[via Guardian]
