In recent months, between confinements, quarantines and fear of the virus,

thousands of bookstores

around the world have had to turn their entire business volume into

online

sales

or, directly, have closed their doors.

But be careful, all is not lost, there is a tiny silver lining for all those booksellers who have lost their jobs:

a six-month job in paradise

, a desert island in the middle of the Indian Ocean, with the turquoise sea, the fine white sand, the lush jungle ... and the occasional tourist.

The heads of Ultimate Library, a British company dedicated to designing bespoke libraries and bookstores (in the broadest sense of the term) for hotels and high-end private clients, need an intrepid bookseller for their

pop-up

bookstore

in Soneva Fushi ,

a luxury eco-resort on the private island of Kunfunadhoo, in the Maldives

.

Requirements?

"We need someone who knows how to work in a team, passionate about books and with the ability to interact with guests of all ages. They will have excellent written and verbal English skills, a great knowledge of classical and modern literature, a personal tone of voice. to write an entertaining blog that captures the exhilarating life of a barefoot bookseller on a desert island, and the skills to organize workshops and other guest experiences. "

The bookstore, closed since the beginning of the pandemic, would thus receive a

new "barefoot bookseller" at the end of October

, after a month of online training with the Ultimate Library team.

Appearance of the resort bookstore.

Philip Blackwell, CEO of the company, tries to convince potential candidates with other

compelling

arguments in an interview published in

The Guardian

: "The Maldives

is practically free of Covid-19

and the resort with which we operate has its own medical center and Strict and rigorous testing procedures, making it a very safe place. They expect people to come and we are willing to take the initiative to reopen our bookstore. "

The chosen one would be the fourth to fill

a position that to date has been requested by thousands of journalists

, lawyers, poets, film directors, retired librarians ... but above all booksellers, because according to Blackwell, those who work best are candidates with experience in the sale of books.

Of course, those who really want this dream job at the end of the world must be clear that it does not consist of "sitting in a bookstore eight hours a day", even though the environment invites you to let the hours pass with a book between hands.

"This is for people to get out there, engage with guests, and

help people on their 'reading journey

.

'

Reading for pleasure is a muscle that, like any other muscle in the body, is traditionally underused until people are goes on vacation ", warns Blackwell, a member of a family with a long business history in the world of books.

Everything sounds like the Garden of Eden for any bookseller, but if we read the

small print of the form

for candidates, the job is far enough away from that idyllic environment to become something very similar to what most companies in Spain are looking for, Maldives or Timbuktu: one employee for everything, who takes care of the daily management of the bookstore as well as designing "welcome experiences", teaching creative writing classes, organizing reading groups, running social networks, writing the blog and newsletters, collaborating with the marketing team at both Soneva and Ultimate Library ... The complete package.

In case anyone has any doubts, the latest "barefoot bookseller", one Chrissy Ryan, wrote her farewell post in April after the Maldives' borders were closed.

In it, he describes his experience as "

a whirlwind of adventures

where I have developed new passions, discovered new skills and built new friendships. I have traveled almost 10,000 kilometers across the planet, I have left my friends and family behind and I have found a community. completely new on a small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I have tested my limits and rediscovered my sense of self. "

It seems that her was self-help books.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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