The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians

Cover Image: The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians

Instant New York Times Bestseller!

This “celebration of the world of books” (Kirkus) is filled with “heartfelt testimonials” (New Yorker) that “feels like a love letter” (USA Today) to booksellers and librarians - as told to the greatest storyteller of our time, James Patterson.

To be a bookseller or librarian…

You have to play detective. 

Be a treasure hunter. A matchmaker. An advocate. A visionary. 

A person who creates “book joy” by pulling a book from a shelf, handing it to someone and saying, “You’ve got to read this. You’re going to love it.”

When the pandemic started, Patterson launched a movement, #SaveIndieBookstores [and] pledged half a million dollars, and, with the support of the American Booksellers Association and the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, the campaign ended up raising $1,239,595 from more than eighteen hundred donors...Somehow, the bookstore outlived the pandemic. Why? The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians, compiled by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann, suggests a few reasons.  -  New Yorker