Seattle Shopkeeping

A bookstore adventure and a book review

We were walking down the streets of Seattle, arm in arm, heading towards Arundel Books, when we saw the sign. Peter Miller Books + Supplies it read, with an arrow pointing us down a brick alley. We could see the glass enclosed shop glinting in the sun. We couldn’t resist.

As we approached the shop, the shopkeeper was smiling at us. We opened the door and were heartily welcomed. It was a small shop, impeccably laid out with stacks of architecture and design books.

Jazz music played quietly as we walked the room, stopping to look at high quality pens and journals.

My daughter chose a book to purchase. The shopkeeper presided over the transaction with calm intention and chatted with us. It was then that I spotted the book-Shopkeeping: Stories, Advice, and Observations by Peter Miller. Somehow I knew that the author (and shopkeeper) was the man sitting before us. I purchased the book, he signed it, and off we went. We were ruined for the other bookstore we visited that day. No other shopping experience that day matched our time in Peter Miller Books.

When we got back to the hotel, I pulled the book out of the bag.

It is a beautiful book, the cover clean and minimal. There is a slight texture on the cover, that begs to have your hand run over it. The pages are as soft, thick, and as creamy as fresh milk. It is a book that makes you fall in love with physical books again. A book that reminds you that, although ebooks are convenient, your reading experience with them lacks the sensuality that true bibliophiles long for.

The prose is as minimal and well-designed as the book. It is, certainly, a book about shopkeeping, and any independent shopkeeper would be well advised to read Peter’s advice on the art of keeping the big box store wolves at bay, but it is also a book about how to be good customers. A manual for being a good human. A human who, in search of not only a good book but also connection, does not settle for the cold transaction of hitting the BUY NOW button with their computer mouse, but instead goes into the world and interacts with shopkeepers and other customers and maybe makes themselves or another person just a little bit less lonely.

And so, this is my challenge to you today. Buy the book. But don’t order it online. Go to your local bookseller and ask them to order for it you. While you are there, ask the shopkeeper how they are doing. I can almost guarantee you will walk out of that shop feeling better about the state of world if you do.

Tell me about your favorite shopkeeper.

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Arundel Books in Seattle, Washington

At the Check-Out Desk

As you may have figured out from today’s essay, I was in Seattle last weekend celebrating Mother’s Day with my daughter. Seattle is a three hour drive north of my home and is a city I am coming to love. With each visit, I become a bit more acclimated. I have a long history with Seattle, going back over 30 years, maybe I’ll write about it here some day.

My Syllabus Series started last week. If you are a paid subscriber, you received the first installment. Be sure to check your email and read it and download your goodies! I originally thought I would run it weekly, but now I am thinking I should give you two weeks to read the assigned book and do some of the fun activities. If you are paid subscriber, would you let me know how you feel about the timing? I don’t want to make you feel stressed out with too many emails.

If you aren’t a paid subscriber, it’s not too late to join us! They Syllabus Series is primarily self-guided so you can hop in any time.