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PowellsBooks.Blog
Authors, readers, critics, media − and booksellers.

Portrait of a Bookseller

Portrait of a Bookseller: Brenda Y.

by Powell's Books, December 5, 2018 2:48 PM
Portrait of a Bookseller: Brenda Y.

How would you describe your job to someone you just met?
I’m a holiday mascot. Basically, I represent the Powell’s holiday spirit on various web graphics and posters. I also do birthday parties.

Last book you loved:
Fifty Shades of Grey. I have to admit I picked this up expecting a book on winter cloud formations on Karakoram, but the erotic frisson between Anastasia and Christian kept me warm through subzero nights!

Where are you originally from?
Nepal.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
Honestly, employment options are limited for yetis. What with needing to stay hidden and the widespread fear of our physical and psychic powers, it’s hard for yetis to venture off of the “leave footprints for hikers” career path. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon an abandoned rucksack full of books that I realized there was a wider world of occupations out there.

Humans crave a connection with the elemental.

When you’re not reading, what do you like to do in your free time?

I run a nonprofit dedicated to increasing understanding and tolerance of hirsute humanoids. Other than that, I like baking, playing board games, and leaving hanks of my hair in the woods.

What’s your biggest literary pet peeve?
When people conflate yetis with Bigfoot. Yetis boast an ancient lineage going back to pre-Buddhist Himalayan civilizations. It’s not that Bigfoots are necessarily less evolved, revered, or relevant to the development of premodern religious ritual than yetis, but… Think about it this way: Say you have a younger sister who’s a little less attractive and intelligent than you are, but people keep mistaking the two of you. It’s a win for her, but for you…

Why do you think bookstores remain so popular in the digital age?
If I’ve learned anything from the hordes of thrill-seekers in the Himalayas, it’s that humans crave a connection with the elemental. An ebook or a digital marketplace just can’t replicate the tickly brush of paper against dry fingertips, or the sweet, musty smell of an old book, or the deep comfort of talking books with a person who can’t swipe left and pretend you never happened.

Share your favorite customer quote.
“Look Mommy, a cat!”
Seriously, has that kid ever seen a cat?

Do you have any odd reading habits or book rituals?

I don’t know why this is, but I have a compulsion to bury my books after reading them.



Books mentioned in this post

Fifty Shades of Grey

E L James
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