The owner of the McNally Jackson literary empire is reshaping the city’s reading life.
There was very little about the bookstore business that McNally wasn’t ready to rethink. As the years went on and more stores were built, she insisted that they have seating, not just for customers to actually read the books but chaises longues to stretch out on. They would have book groups, dozens of them: Community was the thing, more important even than sales. Contrary to prevailing wisdom, she jammed the stores with books, prioritizing shelf space over display space. Bookseller training at McNally Jackson now specifies that books should be placed on the shelves loosely enough that one can be removed as easily as “the petal of a rose.”