As many of you now know from posts flying around on twitter and on facebook and on the LA times, the owner of Book Soup died yesterday of Pancreatic Cancer. Glenn Goldman was 58 years old.
Even though I have worked at the store for close to two years, I can't say I knew Glenn well. I wasn't a manager, so I was not one of those who participated in conversations about the store with him on a weekly basis. But I did see him regularly, and I have worked at the store as long as I have because I love the community that exists in it and around it.
The independent bookstore is becoming an endangered species these past few years. People often say without thinking when we are sold out of a book, "Oh- I'll just get it online," not thinking about the impact such a statement has on an independent bookseller.
Many other people have written far more informed things about Glenn than I could, but I can talk about the store that was his vision and is a dream that all of us who work there would like to see continue.
image: c/o latimes. Our sign out front of the store.
Anyone who loves books would rather buy them in a store. I have been a reader since I was little. I didn't figure out the whole social skills side of life until later- perhaps I still haven't- but reading was an outlet that enriched and informed my life from the beginning. Bookstores have been a refuge and a home away from home. They are places to think and discover.
Book Soup has become that place for so many wonderful customers and the staff that feels like a big crazy family to me now. I have kept working there despite my commitment to my own company because there is nothing more exciting than helping someone find just the right book that will be a joy to them or who they plan to give it to. I have helped people shop for gifts, themselves, long plane rides and just to lay around by a pool at one of the hotels nearby. It's magic.
If any of you have been to a big box bookstore you know that the staff, even if it's friendly, doesn't necessarily love reading this way. How could they? One of the great gifts of Glenn's was the most involved job application I have ever filled out, including which books I loved most in many categories, favorite characters and what I'd recommend on a variety of topics.
It was great fun to do.
Whether you knew Glenn or not, and whether you live in LA or not, I'd like to ask that you honor the spirit of the independent bookstore by buying your next book in one. Walk around. Browse. Love the fact that you are able to see and feel the binding before you commit. I am a big fan of the quality of the paper and that is something you just can't find online.
And even though it's easier sometimes to just click to get a book, think of how nice it is to special order and get a call from someone telling you your book has arrived. Bookselling is a relationship, and it's one I want to see continue. Selfishly, I don't want to have to pick books online all the time.
I need bookstores like Book Soup in my life. I thank Glenn for starting one and running it for thirty years. It's a gift we need to thank him for by saying yes to the independent shop. It is an investment that pays out more than you might realize.
Thank you for your support.
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