Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, our introduction to Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week we have Louise and Gareth Ward, owners of Wardini Books and authors of the bestselling The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone.
The strangest questions ever asked on a factory floor
We had a customer who kept ordering the Poldark books and every time they received them they would say it was a book about “the Poldark family.” We just didn’t have the courage to point out that it was a fictional character.
The funniest story I’ve heard on a factory floor
Teenager 1: I love bookstores. It would be great if I could buy any book I wanted.
Teenager 2: Oh, it’s the library.
The best thing about being a bookseller
Share your love of books with others. The book ecosystem is an amazing thing, and whether you talk to customers, librarians, publishers, authors, or other booksellers, they all share a common passion for books.
The worst thing about being a bookseller
Amazon. Bookstores are resilient and we have great people working for them, but I worry that one day the last book will be sold out of a brick-and-mortar bookstore, and only then will people say, how did this happen?
The Bookshop Detectives by Gareth Ward and Louise Ward.
Most requested books
Local children’s picture books that have just been in the paper, especially grandparents are always on the lookout, so it’s good to keep an eye out for books that have been featured in the local news, and then books that have just been reviewed on Nine to Noon.
The most underrated book
There are books that we love and no one is interested in until they win an award. There are books that we know are great and we put them in front of our customers, but for some reason no one buys them. And then when they win an award…
What books would you recommend to readers looking for escapism?
The Murderbot Diaries – Martha Wells. This book left me wondering for a moment what trick the author used to make me like the main character so much. Amazing! (Gareth)
What books would you recommend to readers looking for an emotional rollercoaster?
“All That We Own Know” by Shiro Kino. The protagonist, Malaykura, is angry and confused, and explores her own wounds eloquently and unapologetically. It’s a breathtakingly funny, heartwarming, and wonderful book. (Lou)
Recommended for those looking for something “quintessentially New Zealand”
Axeman’s Carnival. Packed with humour, horror, heart, sadness and redemption, set against the beautiful backdrop of New Zealand’s landscapes. I urge everyone to take a closer look at Catherine Chidgey, because I think she has potential. (Gareth)
From left to right: Gareth Ward’s book for those looking for escapism, a book for those looking for something quintessentially New Zealand, and Louise Ward’s book for those looking for an emotional rollercoaster.
My favorite bookstore that’s not my own
Sherlock Tomes in his bestselling novel The Bookshop Detectives: Dead Girl Gone , which is heavily based on Wardini Books so I’m totally cheating but in the novel I wanted to be representative of Aotearoa’s great bookshops and show some of the trials and tribulations that bookshops endure.
The book I wanted to write
Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak. This book will leave you confused and fascinated. You have to trust the story because everything that is said and happens in this book is essential to your complete understanding of the book. It’s a perfect novel. (Lou)
Everyone should read it
Te Tiriti o Waitangi (BWB Texts) is a short, concise, factual and simple introduction. There is a lot of debate and opinion on this subject, but this book is a beginner’s guide to the history of the 1840 treaty. (Lou)
Books I’d like to be buried with
“Traitors and Thieves” was my first published novel and I still think it’s a fantastic piece of work that deserves a wider audience. (Gareth)
From left to right: the book Lou wishes he’d written, the book he thinks everyone should read, and the book that will be buried with Gareth when he is laid to rest.
What are you reading now?
All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whittaker (Gareth) and Ōkiwi Brown by Christina Saunders (Lou).