cappy yarbrough is reading ANYWHERE at ANYTIME
friends of!
Welcome to friends of! Once a month, one of my favorite writers, artists, friends, poets, opera composers, lovers, booksellers, etc, recommends books and things to you and me.
This month, the fabulous Cappy is here to save us from the dense non-fiction we know we’re never going to finish. Cappy is your favorite bookseller’s favorite (former) bookseller, the human being personally responsible for my newfound obsession with audiobooks, and just an all-around delight.
You used to work at Eagle Harbor Books which looks like one of the most charming places on earth. Is it as fun as it looks in You’ve Got Mail, and what was your favorite book to sell?
I don’t believe anything is as fun as it looks in You’ve Got Mail but I can confirm that many parts of a bookstore are as truly dreamy as they seem. I miss so many things about that bookstore but the things I most most are: the squeaky wood floors, opening alone on Sunday mornings with a coffee, my coworkers who talked books and laughed with me for hours at a time, advanced reader copies.
I was an obsessive handseller (the term for personally selling a customer on a book) so I can’t pick one book but I think I single handedly increased the sales of Piranesi by Susannah Clarke x10.
What’s your desert island book?
Pride and Prejudice. Boring but it is the perfect novel.
You are a voracious reader! Do you have any tips for readers who wish they were as prolific as you?
First of all tysm. These are the things I tell people who want to read more:
Put down that dense non-fiction book you feel like you “should” read. Pick up a romance, a mystery, a horror—anything light that will suck you in. Let yourself have fun with a book. You can get to serious non-fiction after you’ve eased into things.
Audiobooks, audiobooks, audiobooks! I think of these as long form podcasts and love nothing more than an audiobook walk or throwing them on while I’m doing chores or driving.
Never be afraid to DNF (did not finish)! If the book doesn’t make you want to pick it up and read, it’s just going to slow you down. Not finishing a book NOT a failure! There are too many amazing books in this world to trip yourself up over one you aren’t feeling.
This one scares some people: but read multiple books at a time! I always have a few fiction books and a few non fiction books going at any given time. Your brain can handle it!
What’s your favorite reading scenario?
If there’s one thing about me it’s that I will read ANYWHERE at ANYTIME. On the bus, in bed, on the couch, on the floor, in the park, on a floatie in the water. I love the variety. Give me a fun little drink (coffee, tea, hop water, beer, wine) and I’m right on my way. I do love social reading, with my friends or my boyfriend. I find having that other person’s energy around can help me focus.
What singer or superstar do you wish was also a novelist?
Chappell Roan. I believe she could sell 10 million books and save our industry.
What’s the last book that made you laugh or cry?
I very very very rarely cry while reading. But Grief is For People by Sloane Crosley made me tear up.
I very very very often laugh while reading. Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi came out of left field and made me laugh out loud.
And what are you reading right now?
Remember earlier when I said I read more than one book at a time?
Early Riser by Jasper Fforde (for book group and it’s a fun surprise)
Monsters by Claire Dederer (more pressing than ever)
Book Lovers by Emily Henry (listening to this on audio with my bf it’s very cute)
Thunder Song by Sasha La Pointe (memoir in essays- so good)
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (I believe it may take me 2 years but I will finish this one day)
Thank you, Cappy! I’m inspired, you’re a star.
Cappy Yarbrough is a book worker in San Francisco. She currently works as a publicity assistant at a publisher and pre-screener for Publisher’s Weekly Booklife. In the past she was the manager of the children’s department of an indie bookstore and had the dreamy job of buying and stocking books. When she’s not talking about how much she loves the Bay Area she’s reading, cooking, or out walking. She holds an MA in History with a focus on the intersection of women’s political history and race.
Thanks for reading! Missed connection next Tuesday. MWAH!