Why books are so important right now: SF bookstore owner tells us what people are reading

Green Apple Books has been nourishing San Francisco residents with good reads for more than 50 years. Green Apple Books has been nourishing San Francisco residents with good reads for more than 50 years. Photo: Courtesy Green Apple Books Photo: Courtesy Green Apple Books Image 1 of / 49 Caption Close Why books are so important right now: SF bookstore owner tells us what people are reading 1 / 49 Back to Gallery

The doors of Green Apple Books may be closed as the City of San Francisco orders businesses to shutter temporarily to stop the spread of COVID-19, but co-owner Pete Mulvihill is continuing to feed the reading habits of San Francisco residents with online book sales. His staff has also created a wide array of shelter-in-place lists of recommended reading, featuring everything from "books when you feel like the world is ending," to "books about people living in close quarters."

We checked in with Mulvihill over email to find out what he's reading and how he plans to keep this more than 50-year-old business with three stores running.

SFGATE: Have you been able to keep your business running during the shelter-in-place order?

Pete Mulvihill: Sort of. Thanks to a wholesale partner, we can accept orders on our website that are fulfilled by their warehouses. It's providing some income to keep some staff working, but the margins are awful. What we wish we could do is curbside pickup (like restaurants) so we can sell books we've already paid for, get more staff working, etc. On the other hand, we don't want to risk staff or public health, so I'm a bit at sea.

SFGATE: How are you going to weather this storm?

P.M. Honestly, I have no idea. Our landlords want (and are legally entitled to) their rent; we want to keep as many staff paid and insured as long as possible; and we owe publishers our regular monthly payments. One of our stores relies heavily on author events, and that concept seems dead in the water for 6 to 18 months. . .Our "normal" practice of buying used books from individuals walking in seems like it may be a long way off, so we may need to rethink all we do. We DO have TONS of good books that we think readers want; and we have TONS of goodwill in the community. We hope some combination of government intervention and community support will get us through this, but right now, we're just running out of money and aren't even sure what we should do with money if we got some.

SFGATE: Have you had to lay off staff?

P.M. No layoffs yet, but a major furlough, alas. Thanks to a pro bono employment attorney/customer, I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the difference between furloughs and layoffs. We paid all staff through 3/20, paid out all sick and vacation time earned, then crushingly had to furlough our union staff. We don't have enough income to pay them, and I want them to be able to collect unemployment and other benefits. We did pay their health insurance through the end of April, will pursue the mayor's offer of one week of sick pay, will pursue any other assistance for staff, etc. So no one has been laid off since that would eliminate eligibility for some programs. It all depends on how long we go with this overwhelming reduction in income without any corresponding drop in expenses. We have retained a small crew of managers to help with web orders, the website, social media, etc. They're working from home until we can re-open and rebuild the business.

SFGATE: What books have people been ordering in recent weeks? What books are people turning to during this difficult time?

P.M. It's a pretty eclectic mix. A lot of what we'd be selling otherwise — recently published fiction and non-fiction. We've sold a few copies of things like "The Plague" by Camus, "Station Eleven," and other similar fiction. We've been selling some books in sets for book clubs who plan to discuss remotely, which I think is cool.

SFGATE: What books are you and your family personally turning to right now?

P.M. Sadly I haven't touched a book in a week. The turmoil of closing three bookstores, furloughing our beloved staff, coping with kids out of school, and following the news have been all-consuming. Tonight, I'm resolved to leave the bourbon alone and the computer screen closed so I can return to "When the Whales Leave," an older Russian book recently translated into English — it's a parable from the Chukchi people of the far north. My wife is reading and LOVING "A Burning" by Megha Majumdar. It's not out until June, but it will be a major hit that everyone will be talking about, so people should order it now, then be pleasantly surprised when it shows up in June.

SFGATE: What are the three best books you’ve recently read?

P.M. I just finished a wonderful novel translated from Norweigan called "The Unseen" by Roy Jacobsen. It's a quiet novel of family, nature, seasons, and survival. I also liked "Why We're Polarized" by Ezra Klein. It's a very insightful analysis of how America got where it is today, with no middle, no persuadable voters, no compromise, etc. It's not exactly hopeful, but there's some interesting political history and analysis (and totally readable for the layperson). Finally, I'm mostly done with "Home Baked: My Mom, Marijuana, and the Stoning of San Francisco" by local author Alia Volz. It's part-memoir, part love letter to San Francisco. Her mom was the pot brownie queen of SF in the 70s, and the AIDS crisis plays a starring role in the book.

SFGATE: What books do you suggest people read if they want to escape the stress around the crisis?

P.M. Our staff have created some great lists here for those who want to escape, those who want to dive in, and everything in between. We'll be making more lists and making personalized suggestions via social media starting in a day or two, once we get caught up on current orders.

SFGATE: What if someone wants to dive right into the coronavirus panic and read about pandemics? What should they read?

P.M. That list is here on our website.

SFGATE: What book recs do you have for kids and teenagers right now?

P.M. Well, that's a big age range. My kids, now almost 14, have, at various stages, loved: Pippi Longstocking, the Ava and Pip series, The "13-Story Treehouse" (and its sequels), everything Rick Riordan, and now they're up to things like Just Mercy and Fast Food Nation. We're happy to reply to more specific inquiries our our social media channels for anyone who wants an individual recommendation--just tell us three books you liked recently (and if a kid, the age). We'll do our best to answer all queries and fulfill any orders from our wholesaler's warehouse.

SFGATE: What’s the book series for the kid who has read everything?

Again depends on the kid's age. The Who Was series is great for the younger set. "The Mysterious Benedict Society" is great for late elementary and early middle school. For older middle school or early high school, if they like sci-fi at all, my son was blown away by the Broken Earth series (book one is "The Fifth Season") by N.K. Jemisin.

SFGATE: Why are books more important now than ever?

P.M. So many reasons: accurate information, lessons from history, escape, distraction, community (like those book clubs staying in touch remotely through a shared love of books), education for all those kids (and adults) with no school right now. The list goes on and on.

SFGATE: Any other questions you want to answer?

I'd only like to reassure folks that our remaining team is doing all we can to fulfill readers' needs through our website. We'll do all we can to keep our current staff employed and get our union staff back to work as soon as possible. We'll do all we can online to recommend books, to nurture the literary community, etc. And we hope to reopen all three stores as soon as it's safe.

SFGATE: If you could get one book into the hands of President Donald Trump right now, what would it be, assuming he would actually read it?

P.M. I'm not sure anything beyond "Hop on Pop" would hold his attention, but maybe "Becoming" by Michelle Obama?

Amy Graff is a digital editor at SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.