An Alphabetical Life: Living It Up in the World of Books

By Wendy Werris

Book Overview

Little did Wendy Werris imagine that when she began a temp job at a Hollywood bookstore in 1970 at age nineteen, she had embarked on a thirty-five year career that would stretch into a journey of self-discovery and literary enlightenment. In An Alphabetical Life, Werris reflects upon how she came to embrace the book culture as her singular way of being in the world. Her career began when the book business was conducted amid an atmosphere of civility and wry humor, and her memoir captures the essence of this time and the people she met along the way. The challenges she faced, in what was then a male-dominated industry, are also discussed -- particularly in 1976 when she was one of only two women repping books in the entire country. In describing the hilarious, eccentric characters that were her colleagues, lovers, and partners in crime, the essence of retail bookselling comes alive. Among the figures she profiles are Henry Robbins, editor of The World According to Garp; Alan Kahn, then of Pickwick Bookshop in Los Angeles, now President of Barnes and Noble Publishing; and many great and memorable retail bookbuyers and authors.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078671817X
• ISBN13: 9780786718177
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.8" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

A Great Storyteller -- A Must-Read for Book and Bookstore Lovers

"An Alphabetical Life" is warm, funny, touching and a terrific read. Anyone who loves books and bookstores will love Werris' story. Too many memoirs these days lack true insight and don't seem to be about anything. Werris is a great storyteller, and you'll feel like you've made a friend when you finish. So in the spirit of her book, stop at your local indie bookshop and pick up a copy!

A Pleasant Surprise

As a book sales professional of a younger generation, I bought this book for the glimpses it promised into "the good old days" of bookselling. I was pleasantly surprised to find a rich and layered narrative written in a strong voice that instantly drew me in. While books and bookselling remain central to Werris' story, her honest retelling of the ups and downs of her life reminded me that life is more than just a climb up the corporate ladder. Kudos to the author for her warm and generous memoir.

Attention All Bibliophiles!

"An Alphabetical Life: Living it up in the World of Books", by author Wendy Werris is a must read for all book lovers, book sellers, book buyers, etc. Wendy Werris wrote an entertaining read about her life; starting at Pickwick bookstore in Hollywood, to becoming a publishers sales representative. Wendy Werris writes about her friendship with Miriam Bass with poignancy; George Carroll & Jack O'Leary, Hugh Callens, her parents, and many others with such warmth and affection. The characters in the book are a little eccentric, but it adds to this engaging and wonderful memoir. I encourage anyone who loves to read and has a passion for books to get a copy of "An Alphbetical Life" - it is a keeper.

An Unbiased Review - Maybe Not

This is a book about books, the business of books, the way books come to be, the way they look and feel in your hands, the way they get from the author to the publisher to the shelf to the reader,the way they affect people and people's lives. It is written by a genuine book person and is also part of the story of her life and growth, how her "becoming" has been influenced by her lifelong love and respect for books and her profession as a publisher's sales rep. Not everyone has the ability to make you laugh through words on a page, but Wendy Werris does. Her tone is conversational and she takes you right in, unabashedly describing her nutty home life, her accidental, you might even say fatal, entry into the book world, the people she has encountered along the way, some of them quite famous, others just plain eccentric. It is a book about books and so, too, a book about people. Well wrought, accessible and well worth a read.

Literate, intimate, brave & charming

You don't have to be a book rep to enjoy this. You don't have to live in LA to feel you know these people. You don't have to be a career woman. All these things tie this book closer to me & made it seem more vivid, but Wendy's clear, bright, honest writing makes it a book worth reading & telling your friends about.