Bookseller's Tale

A message from HM the Queen

Welcome to The Honey!

I am Sallyhani Hazman, the owner of my dream bookstore, The Honey Bookstore. This page is dedicated to retelling my misadventures as a bookseller, where I share my mishaps, tears, and my favorite—tea spills. I love my cuppa hot.

The bookstore started in a way I never planned, mainly because of the pandemic. I didn't plan to own a bookstore—I always thought it would be a retirement plan. Instead, it became a desperate move for my bread and butter when I lost my job during the pandemic. I used my saved-up, failed, and never-happened wedding fund to open the bookstore. Now, here I am, working full-time in my dream bookstore. It is my pride and joy, but also the reason I wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares about my bookstore.

This is my low-key warning to NOT open a bookstore or any business unless you have the mental capacity and resilience to do so.

You might think this page is an inspiration for those who dream of one day owning their own bookstore or business. You're absolutely wrong. This is my low-key warning to NOT open a bookstore or any business unless you have the mental capacity and resilience to do so. Trust me, it is not a cakewalk to even start a business. I urge you not to believe the romanticized version of owning a bookstore you see on TikTok. Those are all lies and fantasies.

Here, I am giving you the real and raw reality of running a bookstore. From the nightmare customers I've endured that made me impose a $150 cleaning fee, to the painful dry season of book sales where we could barely pay rent and my daily dose of coffee, to the time when a random purchase I made from a guy on Facebook Marketplace for the bookstore led to meeting my husband-to-be.

This is my own raw and emotional recollection of raising my bookstore to what it is today.

Jun 26

My First Child, The Honey

How I celebrated my failed relationship and unemployment by opening up a bookstore using my wedding fund.