Tag: volunteers

Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Karen Schultz

March 24, 2022

Thanks to our wonderful volunteers! Volunteers supplement our booksellers’ work, and are a huge help in keeping things running smoothly. This extraordinarily well-read group also give us a much wider sense of what’s worth reading by sharing insights and recommendations.

Many of our volunteers have been with the store for a number of years, like Karen Schultz, who we thought you’d enjoy meeting. We are always looking for new volunteers, so if you’re interested, introduce yourself next time you’re visiting the store and we’ll tell you how it works.

Q: Where is home when you’re not in Key West and how did you end up in Key West?

A: We lived for many years in State College, PA (home of Penn State), but after I retired, my husband and I moved into our beach cottage in Sea Isle City, NJ, where we now spend our summers. We fell in love with Key West during our first visit in the early 1990s and immediately knew it was where we wanted to live during the winter. After enduring so many cold, grey winters in central PA, we wanted to be as far south as possible! We bought a house in Old Town that had been sub-divided into 3 apartments, maintained it as a rental for 14 years, then renovated it into a single-family home.

Q: How long have you been volunteering at the store and how did you get into it? What do you like best about it?

*Thank you to all of our volunteers! We appreciate your assistance and your commitment to helping the bookstore thrive. Have a great summer!*

A: I’ve been volunteering at Books & Books for 6 years. I went into the store one day to buy one of Judy Blume’s books for my granddaughter and ran into a neighbor of mine who was a volunteer. She introduced me to the store manager and I started working a few weeks later. For an avid reader like me, it’s heaven to work in a bookstore. Judy and George are wonderful (I will always be grateful for George’s patience while I was learning the computer system), the staff and volunteers are so great, and customers really appreciate the store. And I love seeing the reactions of Judy’s fans when they meet her. I’ve seen women get teary-eyed when telling Judy how much her books meant to them when they were younger.

Q: What’s your favorite thing to take visiting family and friends to do in or around the Keys?

A: There are so many places in Key West that I love sharing with visitors. But our must-see spot is the Garden Club at West Martello. It is, in my opinion, the most beautiful place on the island. And it’s free (donations appreciated) — you can’t beat that!

Q: What’s your favorite book to recommend to customers who are just looking for a good book?

A: That’s a difficult question to answer, since it depends on the genre the customer prefers. I’m a murder mystery fan, so I often recommend Louise Penny‘s books. I also recommend The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah — I haven’t met anyone who’s read that book that didn’t love it — and This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger.

Q: What are you reading currently that you’d recommend or what book are you looking forward to picking up?

A: I’m currently reading Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe. It’s the story of the Sackler family, Purdue Pharma, and OxyContin. The next book on my to-read list is Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, which I’m very much looking forward to.

Meet volunteer and author, Carrie Jo Howe

June 22, 2018

by Robin Wood

photo credit: Lena Perkins

Carrie Jo is one of our cadre of fantastic volunteers. She’s also the author of Island Life Sentence, a funny story about a Key West transplant who finds paradise isn’t exactly as billed. We chatted with Carrie Jo about writing, moving to Key West and, of course, about how much fun it is to volunteer at the (air conditioned) bookstore.

Q: How did you come to write Island Life Sentence?

A: Key West is a place of storytelling.

There was that time in our garden when the poisonous Bufo Toad jumped out at me. This bowling ball sized bulbous creature’s skin secretes a deadly poison — enough to kill a dog. And the time when I realized why our front porch ceiling is painted haint blue. Did past homeowners have haint infestation? Is this forcefield actually successful in haint prevention? And when I discovered there is a hurricane protection grotto at the Catholic Church that has kept the island safe for a century. You better believe I quickly upped my weekly donation.

Add a dash of bridge driving anxiety, to this recipe of disasters and the ingredients of Island Life Sentence percolated into a book.

I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my local writing coach, Lisa Mahoney. This was my first novel and I needed help with structure and form. She and I met every other week for a year. She’s a funny, smart, talented taskmaster who doesn’t like exclamation points. (!)

Q: How many books so far?

A: I’ve written one other book called Motherhood is NOT for Babies. It’s a compilation of anecdotes about my husband, three boys and bad dog.

Q: How long have you been a writer?

A: I’ve written on and off my whole life.Raising the boys and working in the mortgage business severely limited my writing time.However, as my family discovered years later, I was taking notes…lots and lots of notes.

Q: What was the process of self-publishing like?

A: With Island Life Sentence, I used a crowdfunding publisher called Unbound out of the UK. Once I raised the required amount of funds, the publisher takes it through a traditional publishing process with structural editor, copy editor, and professional cover art. The negative is that the physical copy of the book can’t be purchased in the U.S. I’m working on that issue now. (Books & Books @ The Studios has print copies of the book, signed by the author.)

Q: How long have you lived in Key West? Where did you move from and why?

A: For twenty years, we lived in the Chicago suburb called Glen Ellyn. It’s tiny railroad stop community — a great place to raise a family and grow strong friendships. When my husband Tom’s Midwest sales job turned into a national territory, the only stipulation from his employer was that we live close to an airport. Key West fit that bill. With the kids grown and out of the nest, we decided to take advantage of our flexibility. We’d been vacationing in Key West for years, so when the Chicago house sold quickly, we flew down here, bought a house and moved in within 30 days.

Q: What do you like about Key West?

A: The winters. I like the winters. We are very popular in the winter too. I didn’t know I had so many friends and relatives.

I’m enjoying mentoring a 16-year-old girl in the Take Stock in Children program, which affords kids the opportunity of a college education. The organization itself is very well run. Lindsay Moore is fabulous with the mentors and students. The community is lucky to have her.

Q: Besides your own book, what do you recommend?

A: Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen, which is based on a real-life criminal. A woman drives to the Keys and gets into a car accident while shaving her private parts. This news story is what sparked my desire to create a blog about the crime down here: www.floridakeyscrimereport.com

Q: Why volunteer at the bookstore?

A: I love volunteering at the bookstore! The staff is very welcoming and appreciative.Since my skill set is my Neanderthal arms, I’m happy I can help out by reaching books on the top shelves.I love to see people’s reactions when they learn that Judy Blume is standing next to them. One woman cried she was so overwhelmed.I like to chat with customers about what they want to read next.
And — they play great music in the store.
And — it’s air conditioned.

~ Robin Wood, Associate Manager