Noting that "the booksellers in these stores all over the world really help keep us alive," the 33 1/3 blog's "Better Know a Bookseller" series featured a q&a with Steven Salardino, manager of Skylight Books, Los Angeles, Calif. Among our favorite exchanges:
If an anonymous donor gave you 1 million dollars to use expressly to invest in your store what would you do with it?
Get a zeppelin to hover above the store and do home delivery, convert the space so we could flip a switch and light the place up like a disco, or probably, more realistically, channel it into a system to help raise the pay of the booksellers and keep the store going long into the future.
What is your favorite time of day in your store?
Bookstores are great at night when people are coming in to see an author reading or hang out after dinner down the street. Rainy days are also fantastic times to be in a bookstore… at Skylight Books the smell of damp wood and brick makes the room so cozy.
What does the future look like for your store?
The future feels good. There are great books coming out all the time and in some ways we are even more excited by them because they are such a respite from all the phone/computer/television screens around. Skylight Books will continue to be here for your escape and education, fantasies and knowledge.
