This month we have six staff members saying goodbye to their time at Bookshop. All for good reasons--to move closer to a significant other, to travel to Bulgaria, to move with a fiance who got into a great graduate program--but it is one of the larger transitions we've had in the last few years. Unlike when my parents bought Bookshop Santa Cruz in 1973 with a total of six employees, the store now employs over 35 people making comings and goings a part of our ongoing operation. Like any family, it is hard to say goodbye but Bookshop alumni are never too far away. Take for instance that when I walked in my son's preschool class of 14 kids last fall, I discovered two former employees among the small group of parents. Among our favorite alumnus are the ones who met at Bookshop, fell in love and got married or are life partners. I can count at least 10 couples in that category, including the addition of several Bookshop babies--born out of a passion for books that turned into a passion for something else entirely.
Our first two employees were dancer Tandy Beal and her partner, musician Jon Scoville. But there were already hard shoes to fill. Bookshop's predecessor, Hip Pocket Books, employed none other than Neal Cassady--the inspiration for Jack Keroac's novel On the Road. I am not sure how much work Neal or anybody did in the 60's given the fact that the bookstore had a waterbed in the center of the store, but he was at the beginning of a long line of creative and smart booksellers who shared the same passion for spreading their love of books. We've employed the daughters of author Jane Smiley and children's book author Mary Ann Hoberman (A House is a House for Me) among many other authors and poets in their own right.
During our job interviews, one of the most common questions coming from a potential employees is what we like most about working at Bookshop Santa Cruz. My response is always the same: We love books, but most of all, we love being around other people who love books as much as we do. When you spend day after day with people who are smart, well-read, and who are curious about the world, it means that you are always learning and are constantly inspired. As I watch a new batch of UCSC students graduate this week and start the process of figuring out what they want to do in life, my advice would be this: It is not so much about what job you do as it is about who you do that job with. On this point, I count myself very lucky indeed.
Casey Coonerty Protti
Owner
Bookshop Santa Cruz
from our June email newsletter
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