A Chat With Mandy – Bookety Book Books 

When Mandy from popular on-line book boutique, Bookety Book Books, reached out to see if we wanted to host the first live book club in Auckland, it was a hot yes. Though we highly underestimated how big (and awesome) the local book-reading community is, with the first event selling out in less than 48 hours, the first QT x Bookety Book Club event was a wholesome evening of bubbles, book chat and complete with a fun book-swap.  

With the cosy season still embracing us, we thought we’d get to know Mandy a little more and get some hot tips on what we should be reading right now while we’re curled up at home… or lounging in a plush QT suite.

Tell us about Bookety Books – what inspired you to start your bookstore? 

The concept of BB was formed during the first nationwide lockdown here in Aotearoa. I was wanting to buy books from local booksellers online and could see that our independent stores at the time had hardly any online presence. I was also working in the fashion industry at the time, managing an online store and social media for a local boutique, and the opportunity to combine my skills in fashion to the online bookselling world felt like a no brainer.

What motivated you to begin hosting book club events? 

Initially I started hosting book clubs online via Zoom and have continued to do so since 2020. As an online only store it felt like it would be a wonderful way to foster connections between book lovers and have a chance to meet some of my customers, and since then I have made some great friends through the online book club. It then became more and more apparent that people are also seeking those in person connections now. COVID restrictions have become what feels like a long gone past and so I have started hosting in person events in November last year and they have been truly heart-warming. 

How do you curate the selection of books for your store? 

It started off simply with “what would I like to add to my bookshelf?”, and now I have a better understanding of my customer base and what they are looking for so it has widened a bit, but our range is still very curated just with a broader spectrum of readers in mind.

 Are there any upcoming books or authors you’re particularly excited about? 

So many! September has a wildly amazing line up of much loved authors releasing books: Jacqueline Wilson’s first adult novel Think Again is due to arrive shortly and we have new Elizabeth Strout who is one of my all-time favourite authors dropping a new novel which is the meeting of three of her previous characters from separate books. Sally Rooney is releasing Intermezzo, and we have the Make it Make Sense book launch at Rooftop at QT this month, as well as Want by Gillian Anderson. It is a beyond exciting release month!

 What’s your all-time favourite read? 

There is no all-time favourite, I simply cannot choose just one. Also, I am a maximalist in every sense of life.

Do you have any rituals or routines that help you stay connected to your love of reading? 

No screens in bed, books only! Also, if you are loving a book, carry it with you everywhere in case you can sneak five minutes to read.

If you could invite any author, living or dead, to one of your book club events, who would it be and why? 

I would love to invite Jacqueline Wilson, she seems such a warm and wonderful author and ignited my love for reading in my teens as she did for many others and would make for a fantastic book club. 

Our next Bookety Book Club event is a special collaboration with the fabulous ladies from Shit You Should Care About who are launching their new book ‘ Make it Make Sense’ on 15th September. If you’ve RSVP’d, we’ll see you square!