We’re thrilled to welcome Liam to the Book Hero team! You’ll find him in our new bookstore every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
Another Hobsonville local, Liam took a chance and dropped off his CV just before our big move - and immediately gave the team behind the counter great vibes. He flew through his interview and hit the ground running, looking after customers in the store before rolling up his sleeves and pitching in with our huge warehouse move last weekend.
Liam is super friendly, very well read, and already a fantastic addition to our team. Read on to get to know him a little better - or, even better, pop into the bookstore and say hello for yourself.
About your role
Describe your role! What will you be doing as a Bookshop Hero at Book Hero?
Primarily, I'm acting as a bookseller during weekends; so you’ll majority catch me stocking shelves and helping customers!
What are you most looking forward to about working in the bookshop?
Honestly I'm really looking forward to working within such a fast-growing and emerging business. I’ve always been really excited about the possibility of being able to contribute to a business’ formation - and finally being able to realise that dream within a bookshop (another dream job of mine) sounds incredible!
A big part of your job will be helping customers find their next great read. What do you love to read yourself?
I’ve been really hooked on horror novellas at the moment, I’m currently working my way through “We Used To Live Here” by Marcus Kliewer, after reading the short story online. And the idea that somebody can publish a work for free, and have it be so beloved that it gains enough traction for a physical release with a renowned publisher is quite cool!
But aside from that, a bit of everything as cliche as that is to say. Mostly grounded fiction though for sure, I've been loving coming of age, dark academia, romance novels, and memoirs recently. But I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for horror, Stephen King especially.
What do you think customers might be surprised to learn happens behind the scenes of an online bookstore like Book Hero?
Probably the enormity of the warehouse and the massive amount of books / board games / toys we actually stock! It’s slightly disorientating going from the contained nature of the bookshop, to the expansive, almost absurdly large warehouse.
Welcome to Book Hero... good luck 📦
You’ve joined Book Hero at possibly the most chaotic time in our history. What were your first impressions?
The bookstore was honestly pretty dreamy. It instantly drew to mind Notting Hill. I found it quite cosy as well, and surprisingly busy for the little industrial district we were in. Also the specials table may have made me drool a tiny bit.
The first thing I noticed about the warehouse, which I commented to Lizzy when she toured me around, was how strong the smell of books was. Like a nice, new book smell. The kind you’d really only notice after dropping a large sum on a big pile you were really keen on reading. Also how cold it was compared to the bookshop! They always come out refreshingly chilly.
In your first week, we had you helping move an entire bookstore and warehouse. Are you reconsidering your decision yet? 😂
Ironically not really, more so the opposite! I’ve always loved moving houses and being able to assist in kind of a wider scale version of that, while getting paid is a fun feeling.
What jobs did you end up doing during the move, and what was the experience like?
I was mainly organising boxes and carrying books from the shelves to the crates we’d take them to the new warehouse in, so pretty easy and a massive workout! it was weirdly fulfilling watching an entire warehouse go from packed to empty within a day.
You’ve now seen Book Hero in full moving-weekend chaos. What surprised you most about the team or the operation?
How calm everyone was! i’m used to pretty high tension and stakes environments (e.g. kitchens and restaurants), and when monumental things would happen in those kind of places it would be a fair bit more intense and volatile, but everyone at Book-Hero kind of handled it absurdly well and with an inhuman level of patience.
Australia to Hobsonville
You’ve recently moved back from Australia – tell us a little about what you were doing over there.
I’d like to say I had more of a social life but really my days kind of revolved around work. I was considered a massive workaholic by my friends back home.
But outside of that, me and my friends would frequent a little hole in the wall bar that’d do live jazz music every Thursday, or we’d be practicing as a band outside of that. So a lot of my life back home also revolved around music, in my down time though I'd usually just read.
What brought you back to New Zealand?
Honestly I’d always kind of held it in pretty high esteem above Australia, like I'm sure most young migrants do when thinking about their country of origin, and I didn't really have any reason not to move, so I took the opportunity to give it a go!
What have you missed most about NZ while you’ve been away? And is there anything from Australia you already miss?
Probably the weather, I’ve always loved the rain and gloomy atmosphere New Zealand kind of seems to consistently have, but aside from that I was sadly too young to remember anything else.
Really the only thing I miss from back home is my mates, hoping to convince some of them to come over for a bit and do a semester abroad or online, I’m quite a big people person and the moves made me realise how much I really did get out of the smaller unimportant feeling conversations i'd have with them.
Books, games & recommendations
What kind of books do you enjoy reading?
A lot of classics, contemporary fiction, specifically memoirs and autobiographies from / about musicians, and horror novels. I’ve been delving a little into romance and graphic novels as well but I'm easing myself in pretty slowly.
What are you reading at the moment, or what’s next on your list?
Right now I'm reading “Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin, which is stunning so far! As a creative that used to be pretty interested in the development process of video games, the novel is right up my alley. I'd hedge my bets on it being a modern classic within the next decade.
Next on my list is probably either “Mayflies” by Andrew O’Hagan, or “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones - I’ve heard great things about both so it's really just a toss up on what I'm feeling on the day.
What’s a book you wish you could read again for the first time?
“The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt was such a transformative read for me at the time, and because of the length it kind of just took my life up for about a month, which is uncharacteristic for me because I'm usually quite bad about finishing my books way too fast. I don't want to spoil anything about it really but it is for sure the best work of contemporary fiction I’ve read yet.
What book would you recommend to almost anyone?
As controversial as it is, “Catcher in The Rye” by J.D Salinger was such a monumental read for me in my adolescence. Holden as a character is so representative of the ego that comes with being autonomous and the unavoidable angst that manifests during teenage years. He’s such an incredible character in the way that you empathise with him so heavily throughout the course of the book, you recognise these innate good traits in him, but still kind of hate his guts at the same time. I think everyone needs to have that moment of self reflection that I had after finishing that book, and ask themselves how much like Holden they really are.
Actually, a little footnote here a few days after filling this out, “One Day” by David Nicholls is the absolute quintessential romance novel for me, and honestly worth a read for anyone that has, or wants to know what it's like to be in love.
Have you already spotted anything in the new shop that you’re tempted to take home?
I’m a really impulsive person at heart so everything I’ve spotted, I’ve already bought sadly. There is a stunning blue and silver hardback copy of Stephen Kings “‘Salem's Lot” I’m planning on buying within the next few days though!
Do you enjoy board games? Which ones?
This is going to be quite controversial but I don't like board games at all, I find they feel more like a chore than a good time (don't worry the Book Hero team will work on changing this opinion! 😉).
Aside from Monopoly which I really enjoy and am also coincidentally really good at.
Getting to know Liam
What drew you to Book Hero and made you want to join the team?
Funny story actually, I had just shipped in from Australia and was window shopping with my applications at bars and restaurants. But I’d asked my aunt if there were any bookstores around, since I needed something new to read, and she told me she didn't think there was any in the area. I checked on maps, being kind of in disbelief of that, and found Book Hero. We weren't even entirely sure whether it was just a warehouse considering the area, or a store, so we just drove out there on a whim. Turns out they were hiring!
When you’re not working, what are you usually doing?
At the moment? probably exploring Auckland or the gym. I’m still getting used to the scenery here which has been really exciting, daunting as it is coming from a smaller area. Before I came over here though, I’d either be practicing for gigs or going to this local jazz bar I’d frequent. Shout out to “The Underground” in Newcastle, you are most definitely missed.
What’s something customers would probably never guess about you?
I have a really unusual habit I’ve developed over the past few years of listening to short horror vignettes or novellas to get to sleep! it’s gotten to the point where i can't sleep without them.
I’m a big Muso! I’ve got around two hundred playlists on Spotify full of everything from jazz to punk rock back to indie.
Plus, I’ve been singing in bands for the past three or four years, and have just picked up an incredibly beautiful black and grey squire stratocaster with humbuckers that I'm excited to finally learn how to play.
Finally, you’ll be one of the faces customers see when they visit our new bookstore. What are you most looking forward to about welcoming people into our new home?
From what I've seen so far, Book Hero has developed this really interesting relationship with its customers, where it almost seems more like a communal space where people coalesce and interact rather than just a point of sale. It’s built itself as kind of a staple of its community which I find really refreshing.
Also the whole initiative of bringing reading to the current and incoming generation is so cool to see. Books are kind of becoming cool again and I’m glad I can be a part of providing that love I grew up with for reading, to a whole new group of people.