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Although "The Manager Of the Store" features Kyoko Tanihara and the manager Yamamoto, writing about many bookstore work secrets that customers standing at the counter will not know, it is not these stories that are hidden behind the curtain of "Guest Stop" or "STAFF ONLY". The reason is that there are too many works with the background of publishing, bookstore industry and other related industrial chains, such as "Proofreading Queen", "My Days at Morizaki Bookstore", "Skeleton Clerk Honda in bookstores", etc., which are really not bad. What drove me to read it was the author's intriguing complex for the bookstore clerk that the author showed between the lines, and all of this may start with the Honya Awards mentioned many times in this work.
Unlike wasagawa and Naoki, the judges of the Honya Awards, which have been held since 2004, are always bookstore clerks who are on the front lines selling new books. Once a year, each clerk can start by voting for three books they like and choose the top ten based on their score. The ten books will hold a second vote, the clerk can vote three more, the first place 3 points, the second place 2 points, the third place 1.5 points, the highest total score of the work, won this year's Hongu Awards. In 2020, for example, there were 477 bookstore clerks with a total of 586 clerks participating in the first vote; slightly fewer participated in the second vote, and 358 clerks in 300 bookstores (the number of second votes was smaller because compared to the unrestricted one vote, the clerks participating in the second vote must not only read the top ten works, but also attach reasons to the selection).
The influence of the Honya Awards is not insignificant, and the first ten awarded works have all cross-media cooperation, and it can almost be said that winning the award is equivalent to fame with the help of film, animation and manga. The Honya Awards have become the holy grail for many new writers, but it has also complicated the relationship between writers and bookstore clerks, who seem to be pinching the lifeblood of books. The author of this book, Kazuma Hayami, mentioned in an interview that he was very irritated by the antagonistic relationship between the writer and the bookstore clerk in the same boat as a result of the Honya Award. He had heard that some writers would entertain bookstore clerks in order to get the Honya Award. Although it is only a rumor, the Japanese drama "Reprint Out" depicts the scene in which the publishing house business wants to ask the cartoonist to draw a signature board and give it to the clerk, hoping to please her, but all this is painted again.
The interesting thing about "Although the Store Manager Has FewEr Roots" is that it is tightly squeezed in this relationship. The protagonist, Kyoko Tanihara, is herself an ace clerk who wrote a book review for the debut of the new novelist Akira Tomita, for which Tomita sent her a thank-you note. However, Tanihara did not like to write works after Tomita, so he did not recommend them since the third book. But the store manager asked Tomita to hold a signing party at the bookstore! Such a conflicting scene is my favorite passage in the novel, and it is understandable to see from Kyoko Tanihara's point of view that everything is so absurd, but I will involuntarily project myself onto Tomita Tomita to see how as a newcomer writer can suffer from the loss of the bookstore's every move.
And when it comes to ace clerks, it is impossible not to do without the "Arai Reward" independently organized by the Aoi Mieka of the Mitsujodo Bookstore in advance. In 2014, Arai not only enthusiastically recommended new books to guests, but also proposed to the company in 2014 that it be held once every six months, from the organizers, judges, and staff to their own "Arai Reward". This prize with no prize money, arbitrary judging, and unauthorized praise was also announced on the same day as the two grand prizes, Wasagawa and Naoki. Although seemingly inexplicable, the Arai Award has become a book selection indicator for many Japanese book lovers, and sometimes even better than the Naoki Award. Maybe the ace clerk of the bookstore really has such a strong influence.
In short, "Although the Store Manager Has Few Roots" is indeed a story of the bookstore's work secrets from the first perspective of the staff, the real secret is from the novelists in the book that the novelist and the ace clerk have become ambiguous and inseparable because of the house award. The benefits of the Honya Awards may taste like chicken ribs for established writers who have already gained a foothold, but they are a great secret for many new writers. After all, the writer ends up being a piece of meat in the market, but whether it is a good piece of meat or not, he always expects something to tell him.
Book information
书 name: "虽长 is too stupid"
Author: Kazuma Hayami