I was hanging out at Cannon Beach Book Company on the Oregon Coast this weekend when a couple walked up to the cashier to ask about the new Widow Clicquot bio."Is this good?" They asked? No one had read it.
Well let me tell you about the Veuve, as we like to call her in my family. My sister Ashley is one mean champagne drinker. She's recently attached herself to a sparkling Chinese man who boasts the same. So yes, I've read The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled it.
Here's what I told them:
"If you like champagne, it's required reading. There isn't a lot of source material out there on the widow, so some of what the author writes is speculation and oral tradition, but the stories in the book are the stuff of entrepreneurial myth. It's got fantastic information about the innovations within and rise of the champagne industry." Yadda yadda yadda.
I also warned them that the book is 2/3 text, 1/3 research references. I felt kind of cheated when I got to page 198 of 300 and realized I was done.
Anyway, I sold my first hardback nonfiction at an independent bookstore. Paul Ingram would be so proud!
2 comments:
Just picked up your blogpost while on vacation. I own Cannon Beach Book Company and thank you VERY much for your assistance! Let us know when you want to come by for a signing...
Cheers,
Valerie Ryan
I loved that bookstore! Huge fan. We've moved to Salem and will hopefully be visiting often.
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