Recent Reads

The King's English : Adventures of an Independent Bookseller

Betsy Burton, proprietor of the King's English bookstore in Salt Lake City, describes the trials and tribulations that she's experienced in the story's twenty-plus years of operation. Along the way, she describes what it's like to organize booksignings, dinners and other events for authors ranging from the sublime (Isabel Allende seems to be a particular favorite) to the cranky (not named, but described in excruciating detail) to the eccentric (John Mortimer and his ubiquitous bottles of champagne) to the controversial (Jon Krakauer, whose book Under the Banner of Heaven was unpopular enough with Mormon fundamentalists that many local venues were unwilling to host them, and Burton was obliged to supply security staff.) Her accounts of censorship issues in the local schools, and of her observation of suspected "vice squad" cops suspiciously prowling the shelves of the bookstore looking for something to object to, are both disturbing and funny. (She makes a point of saying that it's not the fault of the Mormons, or at least not entirely so.) Her firsthand reportage of the ongoing war between independent bookstores and big-box corporate retailers, and the strategies that they use against each other, are invaluable. I particularly enjoyed her account of how TKE dealt with the Harry Potter frenzy after being stiffed by a book wholesaler who promised to deliver the books by the Big Day and then refused to do so. Keep the customer satisfied...