Oblong bookseller retires after 42 years on Main Street

MILLERTON — Longtime bookseller Lisa Wright has announced her retirement from Millerton’s Oblong Books, marking the end of a 42-year run that made her the longest-serving employee of the 50-year-old shop. She was among Oblong’s first booksellers and said her departure is bittersweet. “I decided I wanted to walk away while I still loved it,” she said.

Though she is stepping away from daily life behind the counter, Wright won’t be disappearing entirely from the store. Even after her final day on Monday, Feb. 23, she plans to continue writing her signature “shelf-talkers” — handwritten notes taped to the shelves to help browsers discover new books.

Wright’s relationship with Oblong began, fittingly, as a customer. She spent hours perusing the shelves and listening to music when the store was still located across the street from its current Main Street home. As business picked up and founders Holly Nelson and Dick Hermans decided to open on Sundays, Wright was offered a job.

“It started very haphazardly,” she recalled. “Needless to say, it was a lot smaller back then.”

Over the decades, Wright helped shepherd Oblong Books through many changes — including its physical move across the street. She remembers everyone pitching in to help, including a handful of their regular customers.

“It was fun, actually,” Wright said. “Hard work, but fun.”

In those early days, records were more popular than the books, and music was always playing in the store. Asked who chose the records, Wright didn’t skip a beat. “Dick,” she said with a smile.

Hermans, a longtime music aficionado, even hosted a radio show during those years — and he continues to share his love of music on the airwaves today.

Back then, most of the customers were regulars, Wright said, and tourism in Millerton hadn’t yet picked up. “We knew everybody,” she said, noting that times have changed. Now, some longtime customers steer clear of weekends to avoid the influx of visitors.

Through it all, Wright’s love for books stems from their ability to transport her to other worlds. She was first drawn to the fantasy genre, but her taste has evolved over the years to include nonfiction — especially narrative nonfiction because she loves a good story — and science. Ultimately, she said, the subject doesn’t matter as long as the author is excited about the topic.

“Those are always the best books,” she said. “If you can find one where the author is really excited about their subject, it’s wonderful, because you get caught up.”

While Wright said she couldn’t possibly name all of her favorite books, some recent recommendations include “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus, “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans and “Someone You Can Build a Nest In” by John Wiswell — all debut authors. The latter, she said, was particularly appealing because of its unique premise.

“It’s the strangest love story between a person and a monster,” she said.

She also always recommends “The Murderbot Diaries,” a series by Martha Wells.

“They are so funny and so touching, and the main character, who is a construct, is a little bit human, but not very much,” said Wright. “But he has overridden his governor module, so he doesn’t have to take orders from anyone anymore. And he’s having trouble understanding human beings.”

Wright estimates she reads about 100 books a year and believes the more you read, the faster you read. She also holds a firm — and often polarizing — rule.

“If you’re not in love with a book, stop reading it,” Wright said. “Reading should be fun and it should transport you. Don’t waste your time reading something you don’t like.”

She’s also a believer in the cognitive benefits of reading. “Your brain is imagining what you’re reading,” Wright said. “There’s nothing else that has that same effect.”

What she loves most, though, is sharing books with other people.

“It’s such a good feeling when they come back and say, ‘Oh, that book you recommended was so good.’”

For the foreseeable future, shoppers can still expect to find Wright’s legendary shelf-talkers at Oblong Books, guiding readers to their next story.

In a letter to the community, Oblong Books co-owner Suzanna Hermans said, “Lisa has been such an important part of my life, and of the lives of our booksellers over all these years - it’s hard to imagine our store without her.”