Happy Meet a Bookseller Monday! We’re excited to introduce bookseller Terri M. LeBlanc of M&M Bookstore in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
How did you get into bookselling?
I was an English major in college, and after four years of studying dead white guys I didn’t want to pick up another book. Then a friend recommended Outlander to me, and it was all downhill from there!
My career in the industry took off when I became the Operations Wizard at Author Accelerator. It was completely by chance that my work is now connected to indie bookstores. All I wanted to do was create a nice, simple website for a local store. Then I started hand-selling books while I was doing the final setup of the site. And here I am celebrating 1 year as a bookseller!
I love talking to people about books. I do it all day, almost seven days a week. It brings me so much joy to talk about books that I can’t imagine not talking about books.
What do you love most about being a bookseller?
I love talking about books with people and I love learning about new authors from our customers.
What do you love most about your bookstore?
It’s like the Cheers of bookstores — everyone knows your name and knows what you love to read.
What are you listening to right now?
What audiobooks would you recommend or are among your favorites?
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell, What We Talk About When We Talk About Books by Leah Price, and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
Where / when do you listen to audiobooks?
During my commute to the bookstore and on long road trips
What is your favorite thing about audiobooks through Libro.fm?
The ease of downloading and listening to the books!
What do you do when you’re not selling books?
I work full-time for Author Accelerator, a company that helps people write their books, and I volunteer for ICON, Iowa’s longest running science-fiction and fantasy convention. When not absorbed in the world of books, I can be found riding horses, shooting pictures, and spending time reading and watching movies with my husband while cuddling with my two cats, Coal and Selene.