Yesterday, Len Vlahos of the Tattered Cover Book Store, Denver, Colo., offered what we think is the best of the many wonderful stories booksellers were sharing about David Bowie, who died on Sunday at age 69 and was an avid reader. (See Bowie's list of top 100 books here.) The Bowie anecdote is from a former Tattered Cover employee, who wished to remain anonymous:
"Around fifteen years ago, I was working at the Tattered Cover Book Store, looking something up at the desk when a man approached me, and said he was looking for a book, and could I help him. I knew the voice before I turned around to see that this man was, in fact, David Bowie. I was speechless for a few seconds, then I asked him what he was looking for. The computer indicated that I had one copy [of the book he wanted] upstairs under "B" so I took him to the section, as was my job. We went upstairs together, and looked for the book, which wasn't where it should be. David said "perhaps someone filed it under 'D' so the two of us went to where the D section was, and we were squatting there, side by side scanning book titles with our fingers. We came to the book at just about the same time, but I quickly grabbed it so I could 'put the book in the customer's hand,' as was my job. He hugged me and told me that he had been looking for that book for the whole tour, and that I made his day. After that he wanted to browse some more, and I had to run a register, which he came up to as soon as my line went away. We talked a little bit about music, and I asked him if it was difficult to go shopping in big cities, you know, being David Bowie. He said, 'No, people want to shake my hand sometimes for the most part,' and then, as if on cue, the whole store noticed who I was talking to and came to my register and asked to shake his hand. At his concert that night, he said that the Tattered Cover was the best bookstore in North America."
Vlahos added that a local radio station played a Bowie interview from one of his tour stops in Denver, in which he talked about wanting to open a bookstore called the "Tattered Elephant."