Countless highlights for Jemma Morrison during 13 years with Rotorua’s McLeods Booksellers

Jemma Morrison is leaving her work at McLeods Booksellers after 13 years. Photo / Stephen Parker

Jemma Morrison will be closing her 13-year chapter with McLeods Booksellers at the end of this month. With the Rotorua Weekender, she reflects on these years, why a love of books is important/beneficial, and what her next chapter holds.

What led to your work at McLeods 13 years ago? Why was this a job you wanted?

I had moved to Rotorua in 2009 from Auckland and had previously worked in Unity Books on High St. By then I had developed a strong passion for independent bookshops, and remember coming across McLeods as I walked through town. I was immediately enchanted by the ‘olde worlde’ vibe of this beautiful shop, and even though they were not looking for workers, I approached them, asked if any jobs were available and dropped off my CV. Having been totally immersed in books since childhood, I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else, and had been lucky to first get a job in my local library as a teenager, followed by the job at Unity during university which really kickstarted my career as a bookseller. I was thrilled when Lynne contacted me to say they had a job for me at McLeods in 2010.

What have been some of your highlights at the store over the years? What sorts of events/interactions will you miss most?

My highlights always come back to people. What really made Rotorua home was all the connections I made through the bookshop. I have made lasting friendships, so that is an enduring blessing. I met Gaby through the McLeods book club, and we became fast friends before she joined us to work in the shop, so working with my best friend has been the biggest highlight. On top of that, there are so many I can’t list them all here. They include the wonderful author events we have had over the years, with the biggest in-store one being the launch of J.P. Pomare’s book Call Me Evie. Being the bookseller of the Rotorua Noir Festival was fun and a great opportunity to meet both national and international crime authors. Another huge highlight was helping to organise and participating in last year’s Kupu Māori Writer’s Festival. Other great author events have included Tom Moffatt, Michael Bennett, Whiti Hereaka, Ngahuia Murphy, Craig Smith, Kat Quinn, Qiane Matata-Sipu, Deborah Challinor, and even having Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish pop into the shop for 10 minutes was exciting! I have also loved the poetry nights we have hosted alongside Jill Walker and Angela Frank, and evenings in the shop with musicians, including Adam McGrath. For a while, we had ongoing and fiercely competitive dress-up days with The Arts Village Café, which was hilarious. Some other highlights include the bookshop’s 75th anniversary celebration, putting together our Cleod Crate book subscription service, having the McLeods book club and attending Booksellers NZ conferences where we had the opportunity to network with others in the book trade and be inspired by workshops and speakers. Daily interactions with long-standing customers, new faces and publishing reps have been the best part of each day in the shop, and I’ve loved discussing and recommending books with fellow book lovers.

Have there been any big or particular changes you’ve seen through your time at the shop?

There have been so many changes over the years; saying goodbye to various staff and having new workers come through, moving premises twice in my time, first from Tutanekai St and then to our current premises. A few years ago, David (Thorpe) and Lynne (Jones) decided to step back completely from the shop, retire and leave Gaby, Rafa and I to run the shop in their absence. It meant a lot that they could trust us to do this, and we really enjoyed it. The most recent major change is the change in ownership which occurred at the end of September. One of the harder changes has been losing the business of selling books to the library which we had done for decades, and also noticing school libraries shutting down over the years or getting less of a book budget - it’s been sad to see this trend and to see some of our most supportive librarians struggling or losing their jobs. A positive change we noticed straight after the first Covid lockdown was a huge push from the community to support local businesses rather than shop internationally online. This was a huge boost for the shop that year, and it was lovely to have the support of our community behind us.

Why do you think McLeods Booksellers is a great/important part of the community?

I think independent bookshops in general are the beating hearts of their communities. They are often so much more than a retail business, they are hubs - supporting events, the arts, literature, music, initiating projects to get the younger generation into reading, and they are able to curate their book selection to the values and needs of their particular demographic. We have also donated so many books over the years to community fundraising initiatives, charities and causes. Also, with books - they are not just an object. They are a literary adventure, an experience, a door to another world, and can contain so much knowledge and treasure. McLeods, in particular, has over the decades become renowned for its huge selection of Māori books, which Dave built up over the years. We have also worked with publishers such as Peter Dowling at Oratia to reprint important and out-of-print Māori titles such as Te Arawa: A History of the Arawa People by Don Stafford.

Why do you think a love of books/literacy is important?

When people of all ages engage with a book, they are intrinsically learning to relate to characters/people from different walks of life, cultures and historical contexts (sometimes futuristic) with different viewpoints, feelings, orientations and ways of relating to the world. As a result, the reader is far more likely to relate to a huge variety of people and cultures the more they read, and tend to be more open-minded as a result. Scientific research (for example, a study released by Oatley and colleagues in 2006) has shown that reading fiction in particular results in better performance in empathy and social acumen tests. It is also a very mindful activity - when you are immersed in a book, you are fully engaged in that present moment with what you are reading, which is both a relaxing experience while being intellectually stimulating. It increases mental focus and stamina too, as opposed to social media, for example, which exploits and short-circuits our concentration to give us quick bursts of constant information and stimulation so our brain can never linger on one thing for too long. Reading does the opposite, and also, it’s just so enjoyable when you find a book you love.

If you had to pick your favourite book (or two) right now, what would they be?

A couple of books I am consistently recommending in the shop are Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. For kids, I love Pax by Sara Pennypacker and its sequel. I have new favourites too, but can’t reveal them yet as I’m judging the 2022 Ockham NZ Book Awards for fiction and we have yet to reveal the longlist. Stay tuned, and you’ll see some more favourites on there next month.

What is coming up in the next chapter for you?

I don’t yet know what the next chapter holds, so it’s going to be a bit of an adventure, and I look forward to seeing what doors may open next. It will also include a lot of reading, sewing, creativity and time with my horse Marmite!

Is there anything you would like to add?

I would love to stay in touch with people, so if you’d like to get in touch, just contact Gaby at the shop (counter@mcleodsbooks.co.nz) for my personal email.