It was a customer, we shall call him William, who inspired me to start writing little notes about Clemo Books.
He pre-orders fascinating books about religion and history. Talks at length, so much so that I can’t get a word in edgeways and his vocabulary is incredible. William speaks of words, books, history and global events that I have never encountered. He even says he used to own a library (that’s 1,000 books if you didn’t know) but an angel told him to donate them all. He pops in whilst he’s running errands and jokes that people must say he’s been let out for the day – I think what do the other shopkeepers in town make of him? I think he’s marvellous. And he leaves the bookshop as quickly as he entered. Last time he was in the bookshop he blessed me before his swift exit, and it is that interaction that made me start recording little encounters and happenings inside Clemo Books.
The bookshop opened at the end of November 2023 and so far, the most interesting part of being a bookseller isn’t the books but the people I meet. People like to chat, and, some days, I’m quite lonely in the bookshop so these little conversations often make my day. I’m unsure if it’s the atmosphere of Clemo Books, or the exchange that happens between customer and bookseller, or just humans being humans - but so often I get to share fleeting moments with strangers that are just lovely.
I’ve chatted at length with a 93-year-old lady about the subtlety of the sex scene between Agnes and William Shakespeare in Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrel. That lady is, so far, in my very short bookselling career, the most well-read person I’ve ever met. I hope she comes in again soon.
One day I almost cried as a customer, who orders books solely about the Anglo Zulu War and who I saw walking their dog around town regularly, mentioned that they had lost their little friend. That the death had shook him, not expecting the loss to affect him as it did. I said how I lost a dog when I was in my early 20’s and still don’t feel ready to get another one.
A man told me he was on a trip to Cornwall to meet his dad and half-sister for the first time. He said of how they had the most incredible reunion and were meeting up again that afternoon because they were chatting so much that they forgot to take a photo.
A lovely couple shared their live video stream of their rescue tortoises at home. Sleeping in their boxes, the black and white video wasn’t riveting but our conversation about their pets was great.
There is a book by Will Ashon called The Passengers, it was a Clemo Club book, and it tracks conversations and interviews with strangers in passing, over the phone, online. The stories each person have are often beautiful and tragic. I really recommend it, it’s a nice one to dip in and out of. If there was ever a tool for learning empathy this book, and perhaps chatting to a stranger in a bookshop, is a good place to start.
Basically, I didn’t think I’d get to see this much of life and people from inside my little bookshop and I’m so grateful for it.
I’m not sure what these little monthly journals will look like. I think they’ll have a different theme each month, I’m not sure, but I hope you read along again.
Jaimie x
Comments