We chat with bookseller Savannah Indigo about her penchant for organising bookshelves and the parallels Frankenstein draws with cosmetic use in the twenty-first century.
Why do you work in books?
When I was younger, I had a fascination with organising bookshelves. I would obsess over mine at home and reorganise any shelves at bookshops that I thought weren’t up to scratch (much to staff frustration). I think from around age 10, I knew that I needed to work with books.
What book would you happily spend a weekend indoors with?
I would very happily spend a weekend obsessing over George Orwell’s 1984 or Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber. If I’d had a particularly challenging week, however, I would be happy to curl up on the couch with the Harry Potter series.
Describe your own taste in books.
Eclectic and mood-dependent. I’ve been known to read a lot of trashy vampire novels after major assessments, but I’m always looking for something that changes the way I think. I look for books that inspire me to think beyond the pages.
Name a book that has changed the way you think, in ways small or large.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Every time I revisit it, I find a new concept that I want to explore. Recently I have been examining the parallels the book draws with cosmetic use in the twenty-first century. I’m also looking at different adaptions of the novel – Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein is pretty fantastic! The first piece of academic work I had published was written on Frankenstein, so it also represents a milestone for me.
Your job entails recommending good reads: how do you balance personal taste with customer nous?
This is something I’ve definitely had to learn through my time at Readings. I tend to latch on to a book and recommend it to everyone I talk to. But, when you’re talking books all day, or listening to other people talking books, you pick up a lot of information. You learn what books are similar to others in tone, content or style, and can make recommendations based on that. I think the most important thing is to be authentic in your recommendations. I can tell customers about a book they might like based on previous reads, but then again, so can Amazon.
I think the beauty of working and shopping at a place like Readings is that it brings together many very interesting people, all of whom have different tastes and can find the ‘hidden gems’. I’m very lucky that I can use such a wealth of information when I’m trying to find the right read for a customer.
What’s the best book you’ve read lately?
Anyone who spends more than five minutes with me hears me mention Jaclyn Moriarty (several times). A Corner of White is absolutely unique and takes me to an incredible world. I tend to recommend it to every customer, even if they are after something else entirely. I think it’s a book that everyone should read. A more recent release that I’ve loved is Marina Keegan’s collection of short stories and essays, The Opposite of Loneliness. It has such beautiful and honest writing.
