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

Werris, Wendy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 078671817X ISBN 13: 9780786718177

Publisher: Carroll & Graf, 2006

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

Wendy Werris was born in Brooklyn in 1950, but has lived primarily in Los Angeles since childhood. In 1970 she began working in the book business after being hired at the legendary Pickwick Bookshop in Hollywood. Following a stint at Rolling Stone / Straight Arrow Books in San Francisco, she began working as a publisher's sales representative—and has been selling books ever since. She has also a professional photographer, and for the last few years has worked as a freelance author escort in and around Los Angeles.

Review

Uneven debut memoir about the author's more than 35 years in the bookselling business.Born in Brooklyn, Werris was only four when her father's career as a comedy writer (for Jackie Gleason, among others) took the family to California. She grew up loving books and planning to be an English teacher. In 1970, she took what she thought would be a part-time job at Pickwick Bookshop in L.A.; it turned into her profession. Werris writes about her experiences at each of the bookstores where she subsequently labored (all independent in those days), then tells how she segued into work as a publisher's rep. She describes the colleagues she liked and respected; she disses those she didn't. She remembers Charles Bukowski making a pass at her, and a one-night stand with Richard Brautigan. (Other than these encounters, she reveals little about her love life.) She met famous writers from Hunter S. Thompson to Michael Connelly, and she once "stalked" Kurt Vonnegut Jr. in the street. Werris ends the "career" portion of her tale by explaining her latest gig as a freelance author escort. Her first assignment was accompanying Jonathan Franzen to several locations: She thought he was hot; they shared some quality time. Another narrative strand chronicles the decline of her father's career and her mother's frequent unhappiness. Yet another details her 1981 rape by a knife-wielding assailant who was never caught. Werris makes little effort to intertwine these strands, so the memoir never coheres. And she repeatedly relies on the weariest cliches, which diminish every sentence they inhabit.Some extraordinary moments of great energy, emotion and even terror, too often recounted in very ordinary language. (Kirkus Reviews)

About this edition

• Publisher: Carroll & Graf
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 078671817X
• ISBN 13: 9780786718177
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 292