This blog was never meant to be about me.
It was supposed to be about books. Or the bookshop. Or something... literary.
But somehow, between SEO metrics and unsolicited WhatsApp therapy sessions,
it became part confession, part chaos, part caffeine-fuelled cry for help.

The Day I Locked Eyes (and My Keys) with Paul Let’s start with an apology. I’ve been a bit hard on Paul lately. Oka...

When Claire joined the FlySafair R11 Birthday Sale queue at #484,400, she didn’t expect Steve to expose a national truth, Paul to ignore her blackout, or a Namibian customer to detour for Debbie Macombers. What followed was six hours of browser-watching, silent treatment, and secondhand book strategy. This isn’t just a flight deal story. It’s a saga of data, drama, and literary vengeance.

“That was the moment I knew, with absolute spectral certainty, that if I died in that depot, Paul would not only carry on—but he’d finish his courier query first. I was sprawled in a puddle of my own coffee, crushed emotionally and literally, and he was calmly requesting Natasha’s digits.”

Running a bookshop sounds like a reader’s dream, right? Endless access to stories, peaceful corners to get lost in novels, maybe even time for a midday literary escape. That’s what Claire thought—until reality hit like an overdue courier pickup. In this heartfelt, hilarious blog, Claire answers her child’s innocent question: “Do you read at work?”

Google says our ads are working. Our margins say otherwise. Claire crunched the numbers, nearly cried in a stationery aisle, and wrote this survival guide so you don’t hand your profits to Big Tech wrapped in bubble wrap and optimism. Spoiler: unless your profit margins are doing CrossFit, your ads might be costing more than they’re earning.