Today we would like to introduce you to the Berlin bookseller Christiane Schröter, who has been the owner of the Georg Büchner bookshop in Kollwitzkiez since spring this year. She already worked there as a student ...
Dear Christiane, why did you choose to run a bookshop?
Already during my student years, when I took courses in Scandinavian, German and Media Studies, I did my practical work as an intern with publishers in Göttingen and Berlin. Following up, I got a job in the Georg Büchner chain of bookshops as an apprentice salesperson and later worked there as an assistant. All that meant that I could satisfy my passion for books and good stories throughout my studies. One thing was clear to me from the beginning, namely that I would make working with books my profession. It was a decision based on heart as well as head to go for further training in the School of the German Book Trade in Frankfurt.
By now I have been working as a bookseller for more than fifteen years. In February 2019 I took over at the Georg Büchner Bookshop.
Please describe the final few meters of the route you take in the mornings to your bookshop.
The Georg Büchner Bookshop is situated in the centre of Prenzlauer Berg, a wonderful part of Berlin. After twenty-five years, the shop has become a completely integral part of the neighbourhood and it is simply impossible to think of the street scene around Kollwitzplatz without it.
I always go to work on my bicycle. The last few metres of my route take me along Kollwitzplatz, past the pavement cafés and small shops sheltering under the rows of lime trees. Riding over the cobbled streets makes sure that I get a thorough shake-up before the working day begins.
Throughout the day ...When the shop-door opens and someone steps inside...
What happens always follows the same pattern but it somehow feels different on a daily basis... We are a cheerful and well-matched team. Everyone gets on with each other and knows what his or her job is before we open the doors in the morning and greet our first customers. It is not unusual for people to line up punctually outside the door, some impatiently waiting to collect an order, others perhaps wanting just to spend some time browsing. Or else, have a nice chat about some recently read book and share a new discovery. It always gives us a good feeling. It is the greatest pleasure to be able to recommend books, advice customers about books they might buy and to exchange thoughts about what they have read and share the excitement – all this makes the job such a delight.
What is the wonderful thing that happens when we read?
Sadly, life is far too short – which is why reading is the best form of compensation there is.
When you read you are taken away to new, wholly unknown worlds. You can travel through the past or the future, move regardless of the laws of space and time, experience tremendous emotions – and all that without any risk to your own life.
Many say they don’t have the time to read. What can they do about that?
To read is a conscious decision. You must learn how to set yourself priorities and create windows of opportunity. In my case, for instance, I always have a book at hand when I’m travelling and, on my days off, I settle on the sofa and read – the dirty windows can wait!
Has a Norwegian book given you a reading experience that you remember with pleasure?
Oh, yes – there are quite a lot to choose between. After all, I took Scandinavian Studies with Norwegian as a special subject and spent a year living in Oslo. The Half Brother by Lars Saabye Christensen (transl. by Kenneth Steven. Vintage, 2004) belongs without any doubt among the books that have made a lasting, profound impression on me. The narrative is troubling, a story of family secrets – somewhere between fraud and honesty – which also opens up an ambitiously conceived panorama on an epic scale to encompass Norway during the 20th century. It is a book that has all the ingredients for a great novel: pathos and poetry, combined with wit and humour. And, in addition, has real wisdom and sensitivity! A must-read!
From the German by Anna Paterson.
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