The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians

James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, told the story of his own life in James Patterson by James Patterson, and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.

Photo credit: Stephanie Diani

Matt Eversmann retired from the Army after twenty years of service. His first book with James Patterson was Walk in My Combat Boots.

“I’m thrilled to be included in James Patterson’s The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians. James Patterson was kind enough to come to one of the early Mystery Writers Conferences at the bookstore. I was so in awe of him that I could barely get the courage to speak. In this book, he makes me look smarter than I am. I love it!” —Elaine Petrocelli, President and Co-owner, Book Passage

“A celebration of the world of books … and the deep satisfaction of creating a vibrant community for readers. A compendium of warm recollections.” —Kirkus

“A lighthearted compendium of first-person reflections from librarians and booksellers about their work and passion for literature… comfort food for bookworms.” —Publishers Weekly

“The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians is very touching and beautifully crafted. It is like having the James Patterson Storytelling Fairy Dust sprinkled down upon you and your life. No wait, it IS having the James Patterson Storytelling Fairy Dust sprinkled down upon you and your life!” —Nina Barrett, Owner, Bookends & Beginnings

Author’s Note

You are holding a book in your hands right now. Or maybe listening to one. If you live in America, you’re among only one in five who can read a book and are actually in the habit of reading books. To my way of thinking, that statistic is dystopian.

In America we urge everyone over the age of eighteen to vote, but only 15 percent of voters read books. Only 15 percent of us perform the life-affirming, sanity-bolstering, empathy-forming act of spending time inside somebody else’s brain.

Fortunately–in spite of cell phones, in spite of video games, in spite of online gambling and porn, in spite of the current storm of shortsighted politics–the habit of reading books is not yet on the brink of extinction.

Not yet.

This is in no small part due to an elite corps of frontline workers, people who are holding that line, and sometimes even turning the tide. I’m talking about the thousands of booksellers and librarians working long hours to keep reading alive and getting little recognition for all that they do.

Today’s booksellers and librarians are not the sitcom stereotypes who give judgy looks when someone brings the latest bestseller to the counter, or who will shush an overenthusiastic teen to churchy quiet from sixty yards away.

Today’s booksellers and librarians are extraordinarily good at understanding and motivating. Armed with empathy, wit, and professional training, they take the confused, the fearful, the frustrated, and help them become more keen-eyed, sharp-eared, and justice-attuned. What they do is crucial for this country, especially right now. They understand in their hearts and souls that in the beginning was the word. 

Day after day after day, they find the right book for the right person, and in so doing, they help save people’s–and our collective–lives. And maybe our sanity.

To my mind, there are no professions more noble than bookseller and librarian.

Nor, as you will soon read, are there professionals who are more surprising and inspiring.

–James Patterson