The bookstore boasts a solid team of staff who are also devout readers and book lovers, which is part of its unique approach to bookselling. “People come to us for recommendations and suggestions and we always deliver,” Brouse continues. “We’re very good at pairing books with people. When you visit our store, you’ll find our personal review notes attached on our books. I think we have somewhere around 200 of them in rotation, attached to covers! It’s all stuff we’ve read and really enjoyed.”
Words Worth has also attracted and hosted a variety of author events over the years, from W.O. Mitchell to Margaret Atwood, Christopher Moore to former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. True to its independent structure, Words Worth Books truly understands the role of community within the larger project of preserving and promoting the contributions of Canadian authors as well as booksellers.
As Mandy maintains, “Just like political canvassing, when authors connect in person with their readers, it creates a phenomenal buzz by word of mouth. And word of mouth is some of the best advertising available. We always try to really put on a show with our authors, and we always hear back about events we’ve had over the years.”