By Faith Van De Putte
Special to the Islands’ Weekly
When Phyllis Potter bought the bookstore in 1987 she thought that it would be an expression of her love of literature and a good story, her education as a librarian, or even her connection to the Lopez community but didn’t know that it would ultimately, go to the dogs.
The first official bookstore dog was Sarah, a very sweet Doberman Pincher. She was followed by Pippa and a lineage 16 Borzoi, Russian Wolf Hounds, who “worked” the store, greeting customers, accepting treats and keeping Phyllis company. Locals and visitors alike would often stop in just to say hello to the tall willowy hounds, who have become as much of an institution as Phyllis.
Over the last 24 years Islehaven Books and Borzoi has moved twice into bigger spaces accommodating its growing collection of titles and pups. Initially, Phyllis relied on her humanities background and knowledge of the publishing world to make decisions about which books to carry. She describes how over the years her choice of titles was influenced more and more by recommendations from, and conversations with fellow islanders. The shelves paint a picture of the intellectual interests of the island. She points to the rack of “best sellers” by the door and says, “That is the legitimacy shelf.” She describes how tourists want to see that the best sellers are carried but actually make purchases from the shelves further in: the “Personal Picks” of either fiction or nonfiction, the extensive children’s books or mysteries.
Phyllis describes her collection as being “pre-filtered” for quality in the face of the overwhelming number of books published.
All good plots have a twist and now Phyllis is following her pack and leaving the life of shopkeeper for new territory.
This fall she sold Islehaven to Karen Barenger and Linda Brower. Both the store, with its new owners and Phyllis with her new freedom, look forward to a new chapter. Phyllis says, “Lopez is home. I am not going anywhere… except off to dog shows.”
The dogs have some prizes to win, some walks to take and might even lead Phyllis into new unexplored directions.
