#nancypearl

Hello, my beloved Island Books community! Dare I say it? I'm saying it. I'M BACK.

Islanders know me for various reasons--mom of four chasing kids at the local parks and schools, Daniel's wife, ballet teacher, writer, neighbor, and friend. But for those of you that have followed this blog a looooong time, you might remember that former Island Books bookseller James Crossley (now across the bridge managing our dear friend Madison Books) and I started the Island Books' blog back in 2011. Other duties and a pandemic took me away from it for a few years, but the dust is settling, the sun is shining, and OMG, Island Books is heading toward our 50th anniversary at the end of 2023. 

A 50th anniversary is no joke. There's a lot to say to honor my favorite place in town, so I'm lining up next to Laurie and crew to chime in. In the months leading up to the big day, I'll be chatting with current and past Island Books employees to trace the history and memories that make our store so special. I'll also be talking to our authors and literary friends who have a special connection with Island Books. Consider this project my yearbook to honor a local treasure, and if you read along with me, you'll see why Island Books is a pillar of our community. 

I'm kicking off my series with a chat with a woman who needs no introduction. Nancy Pearl is an American librarian, best-selling author, literary critic and the former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library. But who she really is, to me, is one of the greatest book lovers of our time. She's someone I admire and wish to be like, she's funny, she's smarter than hell, and she's our dear, dear friend. 

Miriam: Nancy, tell me about the first time you visited Island Books. What are your memories there and what stood out to you about the store?

Nancy:  The first time I visited Island Books was in 2003 when the first Book Lust book was published. Roger invited me to come talk about the book. I loved the store. I think small and cozy bookstores are the best, and Island Books was one of those stores that are wonderfully curated with a glorious mixture of the popular and the unusual books that you wouldn't see at a Barnes and Noble, for example. It reminded me of Yorktown Alley Bookstore, the bookstore I managed in Tulsa years ago.

Miriam: I didn't know you managed a bookstore! That's good to know and explains a lot about you. I went and did my google duty and saw that the Yorktown Alley Bookstore closed, which happened to a lot of indies once Amazon came on the scene. Can you tell me a little more about working there? What kinds of books did you recommend to customers back then, and how have your recommendations changed between then and now? How did that experience help launch you toward library work?

Nancy:  I already had my library degree when we moved to Oklahoma and 2 daughters, ages 9 months and 31 months old;  7 years in Stillwater and then moved to Tulsa and my wonderful husband commuted back to Stillwater. He'd go in Monday mornings, sleep (in his office) Monday nights, come home Tuesday night, stay in Tulsa on Wednesday, and then back to Stillwater on Thursday and home again Friday evening. A good friend from Stillwater moved to Tulsa and opened the bookstore and when I was ready to go back to work I started working there.  I think I said this already, but it was really a wonderful bookstore. I sold many many copies of all my favorite novels from 1980 to 1989, when I went to work at the public library, including Anne Tyler's Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children (it was the then Random House rep, whose name I don't remember, who told me to read it, and he was so right), Pat Conroy (I met him at what was then called ABA conference in New Orleans and invited him to come to Tulsa and he did - I loved Prince of Tides. When the library staff (5 of us) went to dinner with him, he told us wonderful stories about his family and writing the book.

This was back in the day when it was time to order from Ingram you called them up and gave the order over the phone. I used to love calling them because all the women (and they were all women) had the loveliest Tennessee accents.

Miriam: I loved Prince of Tides too. Will you tell us about your experience with bookstores during the publication of your Book Lust series and with your debut novel, George and Lizzie? Do you have some favorite experiences from those times? James Crossley and I had the honor of being in conversation with you at Island Books when that came out and it was so much fun. There’s nothing bookstores love more than helping elevate authors!

Nancy: I loved doing the book tours for the Book Lust books (especially the first one) because I got to meet wonderful readers all over. I remember speaking at a bookstore in Washington (I think it was the one on Vashon, but it could actually have been Island Books) and the owner (maybe Roger) found a copy of one of my all-time favorite novels - Merle Miller’s A Gay and Melancholy Sound which was long out of print and gave it to me - And Lisa Scottoline chose More Book Lust as the Today Show bookclub book, which was thrilling - they flew me to New York and we were both on the show talking about the book. Lisa was wearing a beautiful Chanel jacket. Also I have to say here that I’ve really wanted to name More Book Lust this title: Book Lust 2: The Morning After. 

Doing the tour for George & Lizzie was wonderful because I love talking about those characters and why I wrote the book. I especially enjoyed the times the program was as an interview, like it was with you and James at Island Books. I was interviewed at the library in Tulsa, where some of George & Lizzie takes place (in Tulsa, not the library, but I worked at the library) and many of my old co-workers and old friends came to the event  The tour was really soon after the novel came out so not a lot of people had read it yet. I always felt the need to tell every audience that the novel wasn’t autobiographical.

Because I love meeting readers,  I always liked going on book tours—I’m so glad I got to do the ones I did. 

Miriam: The readers love you too, Nancy! Thanks so much for making time to answer my questions, for spreading your passion to so many others, and always offering your support to indie bookstores like ours. 

To our Island Books community: Keep an eye on this space in the coming months—leading up to our 50th—for my upcoming conversations with Laurie Raisys, Roger and Nancy Page, James Crossley, and many more characters who’ve made Island Books the place it is today. There are so many memories and special people connected to our store. I’m excited to share them here.