More Than Just Books: An Exclusive Guest Post from Hannah Morrissey, Author of Hello, Transcriber

Barnes & Noble is “more than just books,” to quote the motto of the world’s most renowned brick and mortar bookstore.

I was eleven when I visited my first Barnes & Noble and smelled the intoxicating scent redolent of book pages and chocolate chip cookies, felt the warmth of laughter and roasted espresso emanating from the café. After college, when my dreams of becoming a bestselling author hadn’t come to fruition, all I wanted was to surround myself with books and to learn as much as I could about them. I drove a hundred miles per day to work at that same Barnes & Noble, where I indeed learned about books. And so much more.

For starters, I learned how to make every creation on the café menu. I learned words like  “affogato,” “breve,” and “doppio.” Later, I learned to ask open-ended questions on the bookfloor: What title can I help you find? What’s your favorite genre? And every time I shelved books from a v-cart, I would inevitably find myself in the Discover New Writers bay and envision my own novel there, my name stark and permanent on the cover.

Life eventually swept me south and I landed in an unfamiliar place hours from home. There, I stumbled upon the job that would be my catalyst to writing thrillers: police transcriber. Typing away the twilight hours with a detective’s voice in my ear meant that suddenly, I had a front-row seat to every investigation and all the time in the world to think of a story of my own.

It was a great job, but I had student loans to pay and a new car to buy after mine had been stolen from my driveway. I worked part-time at the local B&N where I made a whole new cast of bookish friends, and when I shared my dream of becoming an author, my manager, Kevin Hall, called dibs on hosting my release party.

A handful of weeks ago, I visited Kevin to plan the once purely chimerical event for my debut novel, Hello, Transcriber. We discussed the important details, the anticipated guest count, and when he had to return to the floor, I followed him. We wended our way past the Buy 2 Get 3rd Free paperback table, past the café where patrons sipped coffee and read magazines, past the info desk, when he said, “I love this store.”

I paused mid-step, perhaps at the simple sincerity of his statement or the realization that, yes, I love it, too.

Barnes & Noble is more than just books.

It’s where I made my first cup of coffee and lifelong friends.

It’s a world filled with thousands of worlds, and the people who love them.

Barnes & Noble is more than just books. No matter where life sweeps you off to, it’s home.