Australian bookseller and author Elias Greig suggested "six ways to be kind to your bookseller this Christmas" for the Guardian, noting: "Even at the best of times, bookshops are weird and wonderful places to work in. As one of the few remaining places where you can spend hours without being expected to buy anything, they're the natural resort of the idle, the elderly, the lonely and the romantic. Our curious position as ersatz community center means customers feel no qualms asking for help that undermines or has nothing to do with our store--from bespoke internet research services ('Can you see if it's cheaper on Amazon?') to free childcare ('Just for five minutes!'). Come Christmastime, though, things escalate. Wildly." Greig's bookshop customer tips:
- Know what you're after
- Don't leave it all to your partner
- Accompany your children
- Be patient
- Be reasonable
- Be kind
"Like the blank, panopticon gaze of the Elf on the Shelf, Christmas is inescapable. Let's join hands across the counter and stare it down together," Grieg counsels.His new book, I Can't Remember the Title But the Cover is Blue: Sketches from the other side of the bookshop counter, has just been released in Australia and New Zealand by Allen & Unwin.