Read This: Shopkeeping: Stories, Advice, and Observations

Shopkeeping: Stories, Advice, and Observations offers a delightful and insightful glimpse into the world of running a small retail business. The book is a collection of real-life stories and practical advice from seasoned shopkeepers, making it both informative and enjoyable to read. Each chapter delves into different aspects of shopkeeping, from building a loyal customer base to handling the ups and downs of the retail market. The personal anecdotes add a relatable and human touch, while the observations provide valuable lessons for anyone interested in or currently managing a small shop. Overall, it's a charming and practical read that blends storytelling with actionable advice, perfect for both aspiring and experienced shopkeepers.

A love letter to the small shop, and shop owners everywhere, by beloved bookseller Peter Miller.

“There is a tradition of shopkeeping, a tradition of codes, etiquette, and customs. For the most part, it is an oral history, passed along, person to person. You learn to be a retailer—not by going to college, but by going to work. You learn from people who have learned how to run a shop.” [from the Introduction]

For more than four decades, Peter Miller has run a design bookshop that shares his name in Seattle. He has also written three of his own books, manuals about cooking and about food and about eating together. In this love letter to his day job, Miller writes for the first time about his other love: shopkeeping.

Miller crafts stories from the bookshop floor with wry humor and skillful storytelling. Readers are taken on a shopkeeping journey and will come to understand along the way that small shops characterize our towns and cities, making them unique, special, and worth visiting and living near. This essay collection is for shop lovers everywhere and captures the art and heart of running a local shop treasured by the community that surrounds it. By the end, you can’t help wanting to own a shop.