“The little indie that could”

Under the reader line “How did a couple from the Peg end up with the best bookstore in NYC?” Maclean’s Magazine published a positive profile of McNally Robinson in this week’s issue.

The Maclean's copy editor took some liberty with a quotation from Erica Wagner, literary editor of the London Times, who said on the Charlie Rose show a few weeks ago that Sarah McNally’s Soho store is her “favourite bookstore in New York City”. The success of Sarah’s store is a mystery on some level. Why does Manhattan need another bookstore? Why have they welcomed this one with such avidity?

One answer may be that there haven’t been many (any?) new independents in Manhattan since Barnes and Noble achieved its extraordinary hegemony. An independent alternative, as long as it offers some intrinsic merits, may attract unusual loyalty just because it is human nature to want an alternative. Of course, it is also true that Sarah is a gifted bookseller, which you can take for what it’s worth from a proud father.

Speaking of pride, I am amazed to find that I have nailed the shoe thing. After decades of wearing what fits, I find my “chic blue runners” admired by Maclean’s. If you are as bemused as I by the idea of getting randomly lucky in shopping for shoes, let me refer you to Patagonia, across the street from McNally Robinson in Calgary.