Hello, Bookstore

Hello Bookstore is a documentary that won’t appeal to everyone – only if ~~ (check all that apply):

___ You are barmy about books.

___ You like bookish people

___ You cherish quirky, independent bookstores

___ You adore people who talk about books

___ You admire booksellers who know & love their books

___ You want to follow a bookstore through good & bad times.

I rented this wonderful film after my sister sent me a review from the Boston Globe, and then upon reading this review in the The New York Times:

Matthew Tannenbaum’s reading voice beckons. Which may be a funny thing to remark upon given that we see his face nearly nonstop in “Hello, Bookstore.” Then again, the documentary about this bookstore owner, directed by A.B. Zax, is a tribute to the love of reading and the pleasures of a smartly stocked bookstore. Tannenbaum’s fondness for his store and its wares is a beautiful thing to behold, even at its most vulnerable.

The film is dedicated to a bookshop simply called ‘The Bookstore’ in Lenox, Massachusetts and its owner, Matthew Tannenbaum. The viewer is a fly on the shelf (as the NY Times called it) inside the bookstore and shadowing Mr. Tannenbaum before, during, and after, the pandemic.

We watch as Tannenbaum conducts curbside business through his closed glass door, loudly asking; “What are you looking for?”, and fulfilling orders by having customers read him their credit card numbers, but also conducting his business as usual — telling a customer; “oh I have just the one [book] for you.” Then turns to the camera; “That’s so much fun.”

The director started this project in 2019 before before the pandemic, so the documentary is interspersed with normal bookstore activity before and after the closure. We see regular customers who come to shop for books and sit at the in-store wine bar, delightfully named Get Lit.

Mr. Tannenbaum tells of his first job at the Gotham Book Mart and how he wanted to work there as soon as he smelled the books and heard the timeworn wooden floors creak (a comrade! I said to the TV screen..).

He interrupts the interview to nod towards a customer; “Look at that smile, he’s found a book.”

In another scene, Mr. Tannenbaum recommends a book to a customer, saying; “My bookmark never had a chance.” Then when (again through the closed front door) a customer can’t remember which book it was she wanted from the current NY Times best-seller list, he goes and gets his copy of the paper and passes it out to her.

An older gentleman customer comes in after the pandemic seeking the books he ordered six months prior and after Mr. Tannenbaum conducts a long search behind the counter, the customer realizes he had already brought them home and leaves….”successful transaction!”, says our bookseller.

There is a short segment on the Bookstore’s struggles during the pandemic and a successful GoFundMe campaign, but the focus of the film is the books, customers, and Mr. Tannenbaum himself.

The camera also catches Mr. Tannenbaum sitting down to read to us from his favorite books or poetry during which he does with great joy. And he ends one session choking up and saying; “Fiction is how I see the world — I don’t run away from the world.”.

This is a bibliophile’s cult film and, as I said, not for everyone. See questions above. As you can tell, I truly enjoyed it. Perfect viewing for hot sleepy night in front of the air conditioner (or a cool, foggy one out HERE) It will cost you $5.99 to stream it on Amazon Prime and/or YouTube (I will gladly send the funds to anyone who can’t afford that.)

I laughed out loud at the closing scene ~~ a customer says to Mr. Tannenbaum;

“I see what you do. You are surrounded by all the things you love in the world and the only thing that interrupts you is people trying to give you money”.

If you follow us here at Book Barmy ~~ I ask, how can you resist?