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Elizabeth Das, bookseller, Barnes & Noble
Job: Bookseller, Barnes & Noble, Morrow
What I do: For bibliophiles on a quest, Elizabeth Das is your guide. Das, a bookseller at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Morrow, routinely tracks down customers' requests for books in the store or in print elsewhere. You don't even need to know the name of the book. She can search by title, author or subject.
Not surprisingly, some of her best-sellers are books on the best-sellers lists. Business books with advice on how to get rich also are hot, she said, as is anything that gets a mention on television shows like "Oprah" or news programs. "If people see a book mentioned on TV, I get calls," Das said. There's even a shelf set aside in the store for books in Oprah Winfrey's book club. "She's pretty popular."
And once a fiction writer such as J.K. Rowling -- author of the Harry Potter books -- catches on, "people love a series and buy all the books by that author," she added.
What got me interested in this: "I love books," Das said. As the daughter of a Pentecostal minister in India, "we always had books and material to read. My home was full of books because my dad studied. Every time I would go to a bookstore, it attracted me."
Das' husband helps her keep up the tradition. He is director of the library at Beulah Heights Bible College in Atlanta. "Our house is a library," she said.
Das, her husband and their two sons came to the United States in 1992 from New Delhi, where her husband had been a production coordinator with the Bible Society in India.
Best part of my job: "Meeting all these lovely people," Das said. "I'm very outgoing and extroverted." She delights in helping people track down books or just greeting them with her smile. "I meet so many people I never would have met if I'd stayed home."
Most challenging part: Juggling telephone calls and customers waiting at the information center -- "getting the right book fast enough," she said. But working as a team with the other booksellers at the store makes it enjoyable, she said.
What people don't know about my job: "From behind the counter, I can be touching lives and be a blessing to hundreds in one single day," she said. "We're not just selling stuff; we're connecting to people."
Das also said she can order any book that's in print or can refer a customer to the publisher if she doesn't have direct access.
What keeps me going: "Every day I meet new people," Das said. "You don't know who you're going to meet."
She recalled meeting a customer who was wearing a shirt with a Methodist church logo on it. After Das mentioned that her uncle had been a Methodist bishop in India, she got an invitation to speak to a church group about missionary work. "I'm proof of what happens from your giving," she told the group.
Preparation needed for this job: Being well-read is important. "We can't read all the books, but we have an idea what they're about. You have to guide [customers]."
Das has several bachelor's degrees -- in geography, English, sociology and education -- as well as a master's degree in sociology from colleges in India. She also has a bachelor's degree in biblical education from Beulah Heights.
Her favorite books are on Christian thought and guidance and health topics. She's currently reading "The Purpose Driven Church" by Rick Warren and "Ladder Shifts," a book on church leadership written by her brother, Samuel R. Chand, a former president of Beulah Heights.
- By Karl Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.
