How About This presents Nancy Quinn

The Summerside PEI bookshop owner answers a few questions

Welcome to Atlantic Canada Mondays, a regular feature of How About This where we interview interesting residents of the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Today we’re presenting an interview with Nancy Quinn, the owner/operator of Seaside Bookshop in Summerside, PE. Nancy maintains an active Twitter presence to share her love of books and what’s happening at her book store.

Here’s Nancy!

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When you were a teenager, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I had no idea. I was never one of those people who knew. When I was little, I wanted to be a veterinarian. When I was about 18 I did a day long 'what do you want to be and could you do it' workshops. They told me I should be a police chief. True story.

Sadly, I have a learning disability; it's a type of discalculia and I have issues with math, so the science/math thing prevented me from that dream. 

Has discalculia been a major challenge for commerce or business oriented work? Have you been able to develop aids or use other methods to compensate, such as while operating your book store?

While 1983 was not a time when learning disabilities were discussed widely, I knew my brain wasn't working the way other people's did. I was compensating, aware that I transposed numbers, couldn't cope with some number/letter combinations, etc. So, I found work arounds. By the time I had to use numbers professionally, I was mostly capable and always double, triple checking.

Prior to owning and running your book store, what were the five most recent jobs that you've had?

I've worked in municipal government, public affairs, business development, international tourism marketing and development, general business development. Lots of things. I'm old :) 

And so: why a book store? What lead you to starting a bookstore?

About 15 years ago I did look at buying another bookshop in another province but the timing wasn't right. I am good at reading, but it doesn't pay much, or I couldn't find the right niche.

Timing played a critical role for me in purchasing what was then called Avonlea Books. The owner was willing to sell, and I was willing to buy. I am still not getting rich but every day is an adventure and 99% of the time, profoundly rewarding.

Any interesting stories about finding an unusual book that you'd like to share with us?

A local storage place called and invited me to look through a unit that was abandoned and full of books. Most of them were quite moldy, and completely soaked, stuck together. Ruined. But I did find a two volume set of Shakespeare from an early American vintage - about 200 years old. Absolutely terrible condition yet worthy in my eyes as the book consistently spells the author's name as Shakspeare. I have kept these volumes for myself, but love to show them off.

Do you have favorite genres within fiction or nonfiction that you prefer to read?

I read a combination of fiction and non-fiction, and it's really mood dependent for me. I like fluffy fiction and deep thinking non-fiction, gravitating towards history and autobiography of politicians, writers and spies (lol). For fiction, I generally turn to Canadian authors; there is a wide river of fantastic Canadian stories, from Atwood to Wright... often I choose women writers. Just Because.

Do you have any Atlantic Canadian authors you'd recommend (besides LMM, of course...)?

I am proud to have several in my shop and it depends on the genre. Chuck Bowie for murder mystery, Beth Powning for women, both from NB; our own Mark Enman who put out a great historic fiction this year, and the Writer's Trust Fiction winner 2022 Nicholas Herring, Kit Morrisey from the rock and the lovable Sheree Fitch from NS.

Does it feel to you like people are reading less or if they read then it's a social post? Do you feel that we need to do more to encourage people to read actual books?

People are reading. Younglings are reading. Adults read to children, and children read aloud. I see all the readers and they are committed to reading and to books. It's good. I acknowledge that social media sucks up time, but it's still reading.

Would you recommend PEI (or Summerside in particular, if you like) as a good place to live? Pros/cons?

I have lived in Summerside longer than any other place and there are a lot of things that I love about this community.... location for example. My bookshop looks out over the harbour and every day I look out and consider how fortunate I am to be here. Locals really do support my business all year round and it is a real pleasure to welcome familiar faces, who either love to read or are thinking about someone who loves to read.

Like many small towns across the country, there are challenges in living here - absolutely trash transit system, lack of forward planning (because city hall has yet to realize that downtown is becoming a place to live versus a place of commerce (which surprisingly, I think is a good thing) amongst other things like a lack of housing, and therefore a reactive chaos ensues. 

As many people may know, I used to work in economic development. Part of my role was to attract new business by setting the stage for successful operations. So I understand how this works, but the reasons people choose to live in a place have changed dramatically over the last few years. I hear a lot about this in the bookshop; people would like more interesting places to experience in Summerside and particularly in the arts and culture file. This has become a real driver for relocation because life is short and we need to enjoy the immediacy of intriguing experiences. Summerside is a bit stuck in the sports rut and while slightly monopolistic on this, do admit that sports recreation is peak in Summerside! 

Pretend you wake up one morning and you learn that the Internet has been destroyed.  What's the first thing that you do?

I am sure I’d be in shock and probably get a landline in my home! Books would be ever more important, so that would be a positive in my line of work.

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Thanks to Nancy Quinn for agreeing to this interview!