By Mo Daviau

This past fall, the bookstore in Portland, Oregon, where I work didn’t hire any new staff. We usually hire new folks in the fall for the holiday rush, but this year, we didn’t. Maybe that has something to do with the economy, or maybe it’s because people like working at the bookstore and don’t want to leave. Last year, when we had three brand-new booksellers (who are still with us) to train, I put my dormant improvisational comedy skills to use by pretending to be a badly behaved customer, so that our new hires could learn how to handle less-than-optimal interactions:

Mo: (loud, gruff voice) Excuse me, do you price match with Amazon?
New staff member: Uh, no?

Mo: You know, I can get this book for fifteen dollars on Amazon and it says thirty here. Why would I pay that if I can get it for half price at Amazon?
New staff member: Well, we’re a small, independent shop and we can’t afford to sell a book for below cover price.

Mo: (sneers) Well, not-very-smart people like you don’t know how math works and then taxpayers like me end up footing the bill for your healthcare. Anyway, here’s a list of my grandchildren’s names. Give me a few suggestions for books for them. I’m going to order them from Amazon on my phone as you tell me the titles.

Yes, this has actually happened.

I love the holiday season at the bookstore. Very few customers are objectively rude, though some of them haven’t gotten the memo about keeping the A word out of their mouths. Being busy—shelving books, offering recommendations, running the cash register, picking up stray leaves off the carpet—is good for me, since I spend my non-bookselling hours in front of a computer writing. Human interactions! Movement! Doing math in your head! All things writers don’t get from writing but are good for the mind, body, and soul. Customers are usually in a good mood. Many of them like to praise our store, which has been in a cute little corner of Portland for almost fifty years, and say that they love supporting independents. Sometimes, they bring their dogs. Dogs are also customers.

An independent bookstore like the one I work for makes the bulk of its money for the year during November and December. Community support during this time is vital to keeping our business alive. It’s also the time of year where the quality of customer service declines slightly, because human brains can only handle so much input at once. We might hand you the wrong bag, or over/under-charge you for your purchase. We will fix these things. It’s a time of good cheer, and mistakes!

Our bookstore offers complimentary gift wrap. We have six wrapping papers to choose from, including a cheerful Santa Claus design and a Hanukkah paper printed with menorahs and dreidels. During the holidays, the wrapping requests pile up. We hire high school students to be gift wrappers, and so the counter area is usually full of people. We bump into each other. I will say, the free wrap really does bring in the customers and is a good business investment. Did you know that one industrial-sized bolt of wrapping paper costs $250? We don’t cheap out! We use quality paper and ribbon.

There’s always a book that ends up being the holiday bookseller, and for the last few years, that book has been on the topic of shipwrecks. The Wager by David Grann led sales for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. This year, the shipwreck blockbuster is shaping up to be The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald by John U. Bacon. I think the popularity of this book can be attributed at least in part to the song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot, which went all the way to #2 on the Billboard Top 100 the summer of 1976.

When books like this become popular, I try to think of a similar book that I could sell to customers who show interest. Are all these people really into shipwrecks, or is the publishing machine serving up shipwreck books because The Wager was so successful? It’s hard to tell. I could swoop in and suggest a WVUP title about a hit song from the 1970s, Take Me Home, Country Roads, by Sarah L. Morris. It doesn’t have a shipwreck, but does it need a shipwreck? Why shipwrecks, and why now?

AN ASIDE: Here is where, if the customer was amenable, I might initiate a discussion on the popularity of Gordon Lightfoot vs. John Denver: Lightfoot had some rugged bravado and was Canadian, but John Denver honored the great state of West Virginia and was friends with the Muppets. Who would you rather hear playing at a bookstore? If conversation at the holiday table gets stale, feel free to use this as a conversation starter. My vote goes to John Denver, but the truth is, this time of year, if I’m in control of the store stereo, I’m putting on Songs for Christmas by Sufjan Stevens.

There are challenges this time of year. Customers often don’t mind the time and continue to shop until closing. There is a power imbalance in American retail culture in that a person who may not even spend any money can prevent me and my coworkers from going home on time after a long shift. Powering through this can be difficult, but small stores such as ours owe our success to reputation. We are homey, cozy, welcoming. We are friendly, we are well-read, we like you and want to help. If we are not those things, then why would you shop with us?

Here’s why: your small child is more than welcome to have an epic meltdown on our store’s floor. I can’t guarantee that the floor is clean, but they can have a meltdown there. Last year, I bore witness to one of the most violent childhood responses to being denied a unicorn book, with screaming, kicking, flailing, biting, and felling a not-insignificant display of remaindered paperbacks. That’s fine. We are here for your child for all moments of their development, and we’ve got your back if you don’t want to buy your child a book that does not support their educational goals. (Just hand a staff member the book, we’ll put it back.)

Here’s also why: I’ve read most of the front-of-store new release fiction of a more literary slant, because during slower times of the year, I spend store downtime reading these books and I can speak to them fluently, even if I didn’t finish them or like them. Our staff is a well-oiled machine composed of voracious readers. We also have a fair return policy: if you hate it, you can swap it for something else. Rarely does a customer come in and say they hated a book, but I would definitely allow that.

We also commiserate! Hard to buy for family member? Couldn’t find parking in the neighborhood? Upset that we’re out of a certain title you wanted? We’re here for this. We can order that book we don’t have in the store. I can’t manifest parking for you, but I can suggest a book for that difficult person in your life.

Our store decorates for the holidays: a little greenery, some Christmas lights. The Christmas- and Hanukkah-themed children’s picture books are laid out with care. They shouldn’t be only for children. The impressive artistry appeals to all ages.

Please visit your local lovable bookstore! I bet your city has one, too (shout to Monkey Wrench Books in Morgantown!). Meet your booksellers. Bring a cup of tea or coffee but don’t spill it. Bring your dog. Don’t spill on your dog. Buy some of the store’s merch, such as a top-quality canvas tote bag with the flat bottom, or a t-shirt. Buy a book! Donate a book! Many bookstores have donation programs for children this time of year.

On behalf of all of us independent booksellers who are a little stressed this time of year: may your holidays be filled with shipwreck books and cheer! And no actual shipwrecks. Nobody needs to experience that.