We, the Shop Dogs of Parnassus love a good party. We love the morning meeting party the book people have before the store opens each day where they talk about new books, schedules, and authors visiting the store. At the end of the meeting, they clap one time. This is the signal for us to bark and run around in circles. We can’t open the store until the book people clap and we bark. It’s a tradition.
We love snack time parties, where all shop dogs circle around and get treats in the kitchen or in the office or in the receiving department.
We love teacher parties, where we thank the community’s teachers for being amazing.
But our all time favorite party is a book party. Book parties are the best!
Miller’s mom works on the team the book people call the Events Team, but we call it the book party team because books make parties more fun.
Jinora: Miller, I love parties. There’s one almost every night at the store.
Miller: Parnassus loves book parties. The book party team members are my mom Hannah and my friends Elyse and RJ. They host the book parties. Our bookseller friends pitch in to help. I’ve been to so many of the parties. A book party is when a new book comes into the world and we celebrate it with the author, stacks of books, and lots of clapping.
Barnabus: I’ve been to a few book parties. My mom Lindsay had a book party for her novel Do Tell, but she’s also in conversation with other authors at their book parties. I try to help her prep her questions and give her tips from the stage.
Nemo: You’re a good friend, Barnabus. When my mom Ann talks to authors on the book stage, I just like to run around and greet people.
Roxy: How does the book party team invite the authors?
Miller: Months ahead, the book party team sends invitations to the publisher people. They send emails, make phone calls, do stuff on the Parnassus website, tell everybody there’s going to be a party, and finally, the big day is here. The day of the book party is all that matters to us as Shop Dogs, because we don’t need to prepare anything ahead of time. We just show up, ready for the book party!
Winnie: On the day of the book party, I like to cheer on the Events Team as they flip-flap the books so authors can write their names in them.
Ripley: I usually take a nap in the afternoon.
Miller: I understand, Ripley. I’ve offered to help my mom with flip-flapping the books, but she says my talents are in signing line management.
Nemo: During the book parties, I say hi to the booksellers at the register, to Roxy if she’s working, to people in the back row. I really work the crowd.
Miller: I sit quietly by my mom unless I see something that interests me, then I go check it out.
Nemo: When people start clapping and cheering at the book parties, I like to guide readers to line up by the stage so they can talk to the authors.
Miller: Mona Awad’s book party was one of my favorites. She invited me to sit by the desk with her while she wrote her name in the books. It was so much fun!
We, the Shop Dogs of Parnassus are always glad to take a photo with an author at a book party. If our reader friends at the book parties see a Shop Dog in attendance, feel free to ask for a selfie and don’t forget to tag Parnassus Books!
You can find a list of all of our book parties on the Parnassus Books website here.
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