I moved to Charlottetown, I was happy to go to the main branch,” he explains.
Patton now lives within walking distance of Bookmark, and describes his neighborhood bookstore fondly and succinctly: “great location, convenient hours, wonderful people, great books.” “I’ve been a customer for 35 years,” says self-described “modest collector of books,” James F. Follwell. He’s not in the habit of leaving Bookmark empty-handed, he admits. “If I go in there, I feel like I’m going to come out with a book.” Follwell compliments Bookmark’s willingness to search out specific volumes on request (a strength also mentioned by Borden and Patton). “They try to respond to the community’s reading needs,” Follwell says. “I’ve special-ordered many books... as an independent bookseller, they’re willing to make a bit of an extra effort for people like me.” Patron Keith Burgoyne roundly praises Bookmark’s “wonderful book-related novelties ranging from bookends to baby clothes... there is something for everyone in that store.” (Bookmark also carries gifts, souvenirs, and stationary, such as Moleskine notebooks and Ravensburger puzzles.) Some of the “novelties” Burgoyne mentions have debuted in his own household: “my son pads around our house in a Goodnight Moon onesie on the regular.” The poet laureate of PEI herself, Deirdre Kessler, praises Bookmark passionately. “Step into Charlottetown’s Bookmark and you are transported to the general store, the old post office, the meeting place where there are always friendly people and news of the community,” Kessler rhapsodizes. “The heart of Charlottetown? Bookmark!”
“The heart of Charlottetown? Bookmark!”
- Deirdre Kessler, PEI Poet Laureate
Bookmark owner Dan MacDonald is firm on the fact that perusing titles in a brick- and-mortar bookstore differs wildly from book shopping online. He’s emphatic when it comes to local bookstores’ advantages: from the personal attention employees can pay to the clientele, to local bookstores’ ability to host guests at literary events (as Bookmark frequently has). MacDonald’s glad Bookmark can help Island bookworms invest in PEI’s landscape of homegrown businesses, and wants Islanders to know that Bookmark itself strives to patronize Island businesses and talents.
Bookmark 172 Queen Street Charlottetown, PEI 902.566.4888 charlottetown@bookmarkreads.ca www.bookmarkreads.ca
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SUMMER 2018 www.pei-living.ca
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