Mornings
Wordsworth Books opens at 9am every morning and Carol spends most of her mornings with publishers reps who offer her the latest titles. As chief buyer, she has the responsibility to decide what books us Swestians would like to read - and we think she does a fantastic job!
Lunch
There is never really much time for Carol to take lunch, so she just grabs something on the go and carries on with her busy day.
Afternoons
Carol runs two shops, Somerset Mall and Stellenbosch Square, so she divides her time between the two. Afternoons also bring the dreaded admin tasks, but she does not get stuck behind the computer for too long! She prides herself on personal customer service and is often present on the shop floor helping out wherever needed.
The best thing about Carol's job
"The variety, it's never boring!"
And the worst
"When things go wrong!" Carol mentions a few nightmares out of her control - a hijacking of a truck carrying her eagerly awaited orders, or books not arriving at an authors coffee morning! These few occasions can cause a bit of stress!
Any advice for someone who wants to do your job?
"Have a passion for reading books". This is imperative for someone who wants to enter the industry. Carol recommends doing an apprenticeship to learn the in and outs of running a book shop effectively and learning to not only love books, but how to sell them. Good selling and people skills are essential.
Favourite author/s and why?
"There are simply too many." Carol has always loved fiction, however of late she has been enjoying biographies, psychology and body, mind and spirit books.
Carol has also had the opportunity to meet many authors and two really stand out - Alexander McCall Smith and Antjie Krog.
Carol has met Alexander McCall Smith a couple of times and just loves his wit and gentle humour. Alexander spent time in Africa and this inspired him to write his much loved series of gentle detective novels set in Botswana: The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. "This was one of my most memorable things to watch - the development of the series, and what word of mouth can do for an author". The first book, No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency took quite a while to make an impact here in South Africa, but through word of mouth the 7 book series has become very popular.
Antjie Krog is one of South Africa's most famous bilingual authors and poets. She wrote the multiple award-winning Country of my Skull, which was adapted to screen and starred Samuel L Jackson and Juliette Binoche. The story is an emotional account of South Africa's attempt to put its past to rest at the hearings of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission. Carol loved meeting Antjie and found her to be an absolutely wonderful person and a true inspiration.
It was an absolute pleasure meeting Carol and finding out about her day. We wish her and her team continued success at Wordsworth Books.