Booklover of the Week presents… Cathy Berner & Becky Lee!
A first in the Booklover of the Week series! This week, I’m delighted to welcome not one but two great indie booksellers from Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, TX! It’s a double decker feature with the fabulous…
Cathy Berner & Becky Lee
When I first mentioned to some author friends that I was going to be doing the Booklover series and including bookseller features in the mix, YA author Tera Lynn Childs immediately emailed me in response.
I would love to nominate the lovely ladies of Blue Willow Bookshop (Valerie, Cathy and Becky). These ladies go above and beyond to make authors (and readers) feel like a part of the Blue Willow family. When my first book came out, Cathy contacted me to see if I would like Blue Willow to host my debut party. Would I?!? Since I’d never been to the store, I popped in for another signing the week before mine, intending to just introduce myself and sit quietly in the back so I wouldn’t intrude. The moment I walked inside I heard someone squeal, “There’s Tera!” Immediately, there were hugs all around and (*blushes*) gushing about my book. I’ve visited Blue Willow many times since that first signing, and I still get the same reaction every time I step through their door.
With a response like that, how could I not convince these ladies to let me feature them! 
Valerie is the delightful owner, and she decided to let Cathy and Becky have the spotlight all to themselves. Welcome, ladies!
Booklover Basics
Names: Cathy Berner & Becky Lee
Bookstore: Blue Willow Bookshop
Bookstore Location: Houston, TX
Short Bio/Cathy:
Former congressional staffer turned school librarian turned wife and mother/bookseller. Woman who would read while driving if she could (but, of course doesn’t, she adds hastily.) Native Minnesotan who remembers meeting Tomie de Paola when she was about eight years old – it was my first book tour!
Short Bio/Becky:
I’ve been a teacher and now am a school librarian. I work at Blue Willow part-time – evenings/weekends/special events, and have been there for nearly 2 years now. It’s my favorite way to spend time, other than reading!
Questions About You 2.0
The You 2.0 blog is about becoming everything you’re meant to be. It’s about pursuing your dreams, changing your world, showing gratitude, and paying it forward. Here’s a chance for our Booklovers to share what You 2.0 means to them.
1. PURSUING YOUR DREAMS: Everyone has the ability to be extraordinary, they just have to embrace what makes them unique and special and pursue their dreams with passion and confidence! Tell us a little about a dream you’ve achieved or are pursuing right now. If you’ve achieved it already, how does it feel to know you’ve made your dream a reality?
CATHY: My dream is all about books and authors – to meet incredible authors, to read books by both new and established authors, to discover great material and to share that material with customers and friends. It has been almost surreal to meet some of the authors who I studied in graduate school (I was completely tongue tied when I met Walter Dean Myers earlier this year. HOLY COW! I shook Walter Dean Myers’ hand! ) – I never thought I would have that opportunity.
I’ve been very fortunate to have accomplished this dream, so I think this means I need to come up with a new one, but I don’t know what that is yet!
BECKY: I’ve always loved books, and 7 years ago, I decided to leave the classroom (taught 1st and 5th grade), pursue my Master’s Degree, and become a school librarian. I have loved working as a Librarian for the past 5 years. At this point in my life, it’s the biggest dream I’ve achieved! It’s been a wonderful career change and it led me to Blue Willow, which is a wonderful way to spend my spare time and the best part-time job ever!
2. CHANGING YOUR WORLD: Changing the world doesn’t have to mean finding a cure for cancer or creating lasting world peace (though it definitely can!). It just means finding a way that you can make the world a little better off for having lived here, whether it’s making a difference to one person or a million, to the earth, to animals… whatever is important to you. What is one way you would personally like to make the world a better place?
CATHY: I try to make the world a better place by being as kind as possible. I don’t always succeed, but a friend told me that he has never regretted being kind, which has become a mantra for me. I try to keep that phrase in mind as I go through my day.
BECKY: Teaching children to love books and understand the value of reading is, I feel, one of the most vital things we can do for the future of our world. I take very seriously the fact that I am the venue to help students develop a love of reading. Through Blue Willow, I’ve also enjoyed working with older children and adults, too. I am so blessed to be able to positively affect the lives of others through reading and a love of books, even if it’s just here in one tiny corner of west Houston.
3. GRATITUDE: Gratitude is a huge part of the You 2.0 life. Taking a moment to count our blessings is the best way to remember what’s truly important (especially when life is hectic and crazy!). What are you grateful for?
CATHY: I am grateful for a loving family, a husband who understands and supports me (even when my two bookshelves of ARCs are overflowing), and two children who enjoy reading and sharing their ideas with us. I am grateful to work with women (and one brave man!) who are intelligent, opinionated and in love with books. I am grateful to have parents who passed on inquisitive minds and a love for reading. And I’m grateful for siblings and siblings-in-law who love books too!
BECKY: Everything! I am grateful to have a loving family who is unconditionally supportive of me and the choices I make. I am grateful to have 2 wonderful jobs… 1 at a school where I’ve been for 12 years, 1 at a teeny tiny bookstore that is enchanting to everyone who walks in the door. I’m also blessed to have 2 nephews and 2 god-daughters that fill my life with joy and laughter and general silliness and love. I’m blessed to live only 3 miles away from my wonderful parents, have several circles of friends, and to wake up every day with my beautiful home and my kitties and lots of love in my heart.
4. PAYING IT FORWARD: If everyone took a moment to pay it forward, even just once, the world would be changed in ways we can’t even imagine. What is one thing you’ve done (or plan to do) to “pay it forward” in some way?
CATHY: To give when I can, to help even if it’s inconvenient. Again, I hope I will never regret being kind.
BECKY: I am active in the Texas Library Association and love to spend time working on the future of libraries in Texas. I think it’s extremely important to keep our libraries relevant, even as we continue to sell books at Blue Willow Bookshop. Reading makes readers, and I am blessed to work in a library and with the Texas Library Association to advocate for excellence.
Questions About You, The Bookseller & Blogger
5. Why did you choose to work in a bookstore?
CATHY: I’m trained as a librarian and had the very good fortune to meet Valerie (Blue Willow’s girlboss) at a Christopher Paul Curtis signing shortly after my family had moved to Houston. We struck up a conversation and I started out doing a little bit of work from home, evaluating children’s and young adult fiction. Once both my children were in elementary school, the job morphed into the job it is today. I do most work from home and spend one day in the store to keep in tune with what’s going on.
BECKY: As a librarian, it’s the perfect part-time job! Blue Willow is the perfect bookshop. I’ve been coming to this shop for nearly 30 years, as I grew up in the neighborhood where Blue Willow is located and I used to shop in the bookstore under its former name, Musabelle’s.
6. Tell us a little bit about what you do at the store.
CATHY: Children’s/YA specialist, Event Coordinator, webmaster, doer of anything else that needs doing.
BECKY: I sell, I work with the other staff, I read as much as I can, I help plan the details of events, and I’m the resident “t-shirt girl” – I am currently responsible for all of our staff and event t-shirts.
7. What do you love most (and least) about your job as a bookseller?
CATHY: I love discovering a new book or author (like Tera Lynn Childs – what a treat our relationship has been!) and sharing it with staff and customers. I don’t like dusting very much.
BECKY: I love giving book suggestions and talking to people about what they have been reading.
8. What do you think would most surprise people about your job?
CATHY: The number of different things I may do during the day (which is nothing compared to what Valerie, the shop owner has to do) that do not involve reading. Vacuuming, dusting, unpacking boxes, and selling books!
BECKY: There’s no time to read!
9. What do you love most about the YA and middle grades genres?
CATHY: I love the variety of materials available for both age groups, from the comedy of Jon Scieszka’s KNUCKLEHEAD to the heartbreak of Gayle Forman’s IF I STAY. I love the pulse pounding drama of HUNGER GAMES and the delightful characters in the PENDERWICKS.
BECKY: I love that YA books break rules. I love that they are so character-focused and that the reader is so involved in the story. I love that they don’t have a formula or a specific agenda (at least, the ones I love best don’t have these), and I love that they keep kids reading during the time when we typically lose people as readers!
10. What makes you fall in love with a book?
CATHY: A good story and believable characters. I once told an SCBWI meeting that they could write about the dry cleaning business as long as the characters rang true and the plot pulled me in.
BECKY: A great first page and believable characters.
11. Which books inspired you as a teen/tween?
CATHY: Oh, I could go on and on. Top 5 that I can remember:
- I LOVED Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series and still read some of them, in particular CARNEY’S HOUSE PARTY, BETSY’S WEDDING AND EMILY OF DEEP VALLEY.
- My mom kept a series of books by Janet Lambert about the Parrish family and I remember reading those obsessively one summer.
- The Travis McGhee series by John McDonald. The titles fascinated me!
- Mary Stewart’s Merlin Saga.
- Anything by Judy Blume. I had the good fortune to meet her last year and got all teary when I told her that her books defined my childhood. I think she’s used to women of my age having that reaction when we meet her, as she was very kind as I wept. That was a thrill.
BECKY: Depends on what you define as inspired… I read the entire Sweet Valley High series b/c I loved it desperately and I wanted to be one of the Wakefield twins, or maybe their friend Lila. I also fell in love with Jane Austen, as everyone does. As a late teen, the North and South series by John Jakes helped me select a major (history!) because I realized I loved historical fiction so much while I read that series.
12. Are you also a writer yourself? If so, what do you like to write?
CATHY: Nope. Love to read.
BECKY: Not a writer.
Will the Real You 2.0 Please Stand Up?
13. I love the game Three Truths and a Lie because there are so many unexpected and interesting things about people that we never get a chance to learn about them. What are three truths and a lie that our blog readers can guess about you?
CATHY:
– Our family owned a pet snake.
– I drove a convertible when I was a school librarian.
– One family vacation followed a route of the best pie in Montana.
– I have eaten pie in 5 European countries. <--UPDATE: That was the lie!
BECKY:
– I live less than 3 miles from the house I grew up in.
– I am cheerfully obsessed with the Twilight series and have been since way before it became huge and popular!
– I have 4 cats. <--UPDATE: That was the lie!
– I made a life-long friend from the Internet who lives in Atlanta and I still see her at least once a year.
(Readers: Your guess gets you an entry into the You 2.0 monthly contest for an ARC of The Cinderella Society or a prize dive in the awesome You 2.0 Prize Basket. Guess correctly and you get a bonus entry! Plus, you never know when the next impromptu Bundle o’ Bookmarks giveaway will be for one recent commenter. Will it be you? I’ll update the post later to spill the big lie, so get guessing and have fun!)
Thanks to Cathy and Becky for a fabulous dual interview!
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