The Love Island Bookshop by Kate Frost (ebook reader with internet browser .TXT) 📕

‘Zander ordered in a selection of books to start the shop off.’ Meena motioned to the stack of boxes along the back wall. ‘It’ll be up to you to curate the rest and reorder in the future, with Zander’s input of course.’ Meena ran her hand along the driftwood-topped counter by the door. It had plenty of space to display books and behind it was an empty fridge unit built into shelving. ‘The island is cashless so guests simply add any extras to their account. There’s no till or complicated system to get used to. Once the bookshop’s open, cold drinks and snacks will be stocked daily, which will be free. Zander wants the bookshop to be a relaxed and welcoming space. Inside, a respite from the heat, and outside a place to read and soak up the beauty of the surroundings.’

Freya was doing her best to soak up the details. With no books on the shelves, it didn’t yet have that bookshop smell, just a light vanilla scent mixed with the tang of the ocean drifting in. She ran her fingers over the smooth wood of the shelves, thrilled at the idea of getting the chance to stock the shop, engage with the guests and talk and breathe books all day long. Her long-held dream had at last come true. A wooden shelf ran the length of the front wall just below the windows with half a dozen stools tucked beneath, a place for guests to perch with a book and a drink.

‘It’s so peaceful.’ Freya couldn’t get over it. It wasn’t so much the lack of voices, but inside, even with the door wedged open, the island noises she’d been getting used to, the birds and the insects, had subsided. Even the constant sound of the ocean was faint.

‘Zander purposefully wanted it to be set away from everywhere else. A place to escape to, on an island you come to, to get away from things. You can play music if you want, and the windows open right up so the view is unspoilt. It also lets the breeze in. You can decide what best suits you. There’s also a laptop for your use and you can take it back to your room too if you want to continue working there. It’s up to you.’

One of the questions that had come up in the interview was about her ability to work alone. The idea of spending a good chunk of her day on her own, managing her time and the day to day running of the bookshop appealed to her. She’d managed her own list of authors, juggled her working day successfully and thought of herself as being completely self-sufficient. But standing in the coolness of the empty bookshop, the idea of being on her own a lot of the time worried her. Not because she couldn’t manage her time or deal with things by herself, but because she was used to having colleagues and working in a busy office. She put it down to nerves. She was a world away from her comfortable publishing job in central London. A bookshop on an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, however welcome, might take some getting used to.

‘The bookshop opening hours will be ten to one and then three till seven. Until it opens at the beginning of October, it’s really up to you the hours you work as long as you get everything done. Zander’s back the day after tomorrow and I know he’s going to meet you here to go through everything including the grand opening. Let’s sit outside to go through everything else.’

As they re-emerged into the morning heat, the glimpse of blue sea and sky and the empty beach through the palm trees was magical. Over the years Freya had spent a lot of time in bookshops; wherever she went she’d seek them out, unable to enter one without buying at least one book. For Freya they were wonderfully welcoming spaces. A place to escape to, to shelter from the rain and reality. It didn’t matter that there was no view to the outside world as inside was a place of escapism and imagination. She loved dark cosy ones the best, with hidden nooks and battered leather armchairs in dusty corners. The island bookshop couldn’t have been more different with its high thatched roof, pale honey-coloured curved walls, sand-sprinkled wooden floor and large windows to make the most of the view. There were no sharp corners, straight lines or dusky corners, but Freya was excited by the prospect of the natural wood and stone being broken up by the colourful spines of paperbacks.

She sat with Meena in the sunken seating area, cocooned by cushions, the only sound the surf. Meena talked through everything Freya needed to know to get started. During the interview process she’d received the breakdown of all the tasks that would need doing both daily and weekly, and everything that needed to be done to get the bookshop ready to open at the start of the high season. Meena talked through the process of ordering books, how and who to contact in the island office and she gave her the login details to access the bookshop blog.

‘Can I ask,’ Freya said once Meena had finished going through everything on her list. ‘If this is Zander’s passion project – and it’s obvious how much time, money and thought must have gone into it – does he really want my input or should I just be following his lead?’

‘What do you feel comfortable with?’

‘I’m used to making decisions about my clients’ work, their careers, what’s going to work best for them as individuals.’

‘And that’s exactly why Zander chose you. He wants someone who’ll be proactive and creative. That’s not to say he won’t be hands on, but he’s a busy man and he’s got a lot of other things to deal with. Yes, the bookshop is his project, but