Via Community News Service, in partnership with the University of Vermont for Shelburne News
SHELBURNE — This year the Flying Pig Bookstore turns 30. Owner and author Elizabeth Bluemle opened the store in 1996 with her then-partner Josie Leavitt in Charlotte. With only 10 weeks to move into the space, the pair managed to stock their children’s bookstore with 6,500 titles.
The bookstore outgrew the Charlotte location in 2006 and moved to Shelburne Village. With more space, the store began selling books for readers of all ages and has now marked 20 years of doing business in the Shelburne location. In this conversation, Bluemle talked about how she connects people with books they love.
Q. What is your favorite part of running the bookstore?
A. My favorite part is talking with excited kids about books. I love it when reluctant readers come in and they think they hate books, but there might be a topic they love, like sports, and they could find some fantastic book about their favorite players. Not everyone will be a bookworm, but everyone can find things that feed their joy, happiness and interests. I love connecting people with the books they’ll love.
Q. What do you think makes the bookstore special?
A. We’re like bartenders with books. We’re trying to give people consolation when things happen. When 9/11 happened, people flocked into the bookstore needing a sense of solace. They were turning to comfort books. They were also turning to nonfiction. When George Floyd happened, our adult nonfiction sales and social science sales skyrocketed. People were finally wanting to inform themselves about racism. With what’s going on in our nation now, there’s so many books about democracy and how to protect it, and bookstores are a place for people to gather and talk about those topics. They are also places for escapism, enlightenment and education. There’s something in a bookstore for everyone and that’s unusual when it comes to retail.
Q. You’ve written four books, including the latest, “Tap Tap Boom Boom.” What has it been like being an author, while also owning a bookstore?
A. I think it’s given me very realistic expectations of what it means to be an author who isn’t well known yet because running a bookstore, I understand how to pull people in to see an author event. You have to try to find ways to interest people in this book they’ve never heard of or this author they’ve never heard of. It’s an advantage to know how the bookselling world works. I love language and I love words and I love books, so it’s been a creative outlet for me.
Q. What is the best part of the community?
A. The families that have come to the Flying Pig, the kids who grew up in the Charlotte store, are bringing in their own babies now, which is one of the best parts. We call those Flying Pig grandchildren, and it’s amazing to see all the cycles of life. It’s wild to me to think that there are people who have never known the town without the Flying Pig.
Q. If you could give advice to yourself 30 years ago before you opened the bookstore, what would it be?
A. The heart of it is that running a small business is a 24/7 venture. So build some time in for more of the other things in life that are really important and wonderful to do, which I’m actually trying to do now in my early 60s.
Q. Do you have a favorite book?
A. No bookseller has ever answered that question, it changes all the time. If I were in a burning building and could only rescue one book I might take “The Riverside Shakespeare” because it gives me so much rich reading. In terms of a touchstone book from my childhood, “Charlotte’s Web” is a perfect novel. I love the short stories of Flannery O’Connor. You just can’t pick. Anything by James Baldwin, I love. It depends on my mood.
Q. Is there something that you want people to know about the bookstore?
A. I’m just really grateful for our community for appreciating the value of local businesses and the importance of bookstores and supporting it. We have so many amazing customers who are generous supporters of the bookstore. I think people who read are trying to make the world a better place. I love our community. I love being part of it.
Q. Is anything special planned this year to celebrate the store’s birthday?
A. We’re in the planning stages, but we’re going to invite authors and illustrators that we’ve had the pleasure of hosting over the years. You’ll have to stay tuned for the specifics, but we will absolutely be celebrating. Thirty years is a long time to do anything.