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

Wendy Werris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2006

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

We never know what may happen when we pick up a book," writes Werris is her tragicomic memoir of life in the book trade, "... turning the page might actually change the course of our existence." As an unemployed college student, Werris began selling books in 1970 at the Pickwick Bookstore in Los Angeles and never stopped. Her evolutionary career began in bookstores, moved to publishers (like Rolling Stone's imprint, Straight Arrow), continued on to repping and culminated in escorting famous authors on tour. Daughter of Snag Werris, a longtime comedy writer for the likes of Milton Berle and Jackie Gleason, Werris has humor in her genes and a raconteur's flair for a good story, and her book bubbles with insider tales of authors and celebrities (like her one-night stand with Richard Brautigan and a magical dinner with Eric Idle and George Harrison). Sadness peppers Werris's story, however: failed relationships, the death of a beloved friend from kidney failure, a complicated relationship with her parents and a brutal rape whose perpetrator was never captured, despite Werris's own valiant efforts. The book details a richly textured world of small presses and now vanishing independent bookstores, and is a bittersweet tribute to the indefatigability of bibliophiles like Werris herself. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Werris grew up in Los Angeles while her often-absent comedy-writer father, Snag Werris, sustained a 20-year association with Jackie Gleason. During the summer of 1970, Wendy, age 19, strolled into Pickwick Bookshop on Hollywood Boulevard, a renowned venue that attracted street people as well as celebrities, intending to buy a Charles Bukowski collection, and walked out not only with the book but also with the job that would set her life's course. Werris now tells the story of her peripatetic and gutsy book-selling career in a matter-of-fact memoir that eulogizes expert and eccentric independent booksellers of yesteryear and chronicles the rise of the discount chains. Werris also adds a chapter to the story of women in the workforce as she remembers her demanding years on the road as a publisher's rep when few women traveled sales circuits solo. Werris earns respect and sympathy as she shares her unusual and enlightening perspective on the publishing industry by portraying mentors and colleagues, relating brushes with celebrities, disclosing personal suffering, and sharing her tireless love for books. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (October 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078671817X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786718177
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,229,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting life of a book rep, January 1, 2007

By 

Reading my way thru life "Sharing what I read" (VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Alphabetical Life: Living It Up in the World of Books (Paperback)

This is an interesting account of a woman's life as a book rep. It gives the reader a look into a world that most of us know little to nothing about. Those people who love books and bookstores will enjoy reading this. As a booklover myself, I have often thought(dreamily) about how wonderful a 'book rep' job might be. This gives you (me) a little reality check on that.

I wanted to read this because of the sub-title: "Living it up in the world of books." I love to read books about books, and books about people who love books. This was more of a memoir about a life and career that happened to involve the selling of books. I enjoyed the story and read it up over two days. There are a lot of interesting things that happened in this woman's life as a book rep., and she shares the happy and sad times. I thought that the ending was fitting, in a 'full circle' sort of way. She had some brushes with some very well known people -which was fun to read about, and she has become well known and respected in her field of work.

There's a section in the middle with pictures. I thought that was nice to get a look at not only the author but some of the people that she talks about in the book. Each chapter begins with a short quote. I loved the one for the first chapter: "Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live" by Charles Bukowski

The book reads well, and I like the author's style. I very much enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Pleasant Surprise, November 8, 2006

By 

John T. T. Intera (Union, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: An Alphabetical Life: Living It Up in the World of Books (Paperback)

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.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unbiased Review - Maybe Not, October 14, 2006

By 

psr "psr" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Alphabetical Life: Living It Up in the World of Books (Paperback)

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.