Betsy Burton is co-owner and co-founder of The Kings English bookstore in Salt Lake City, Utah, a unique store in an older upscale residential area established in 1977.

People who open bookstores, and often restaurants, do so because they have always yearned to do just that. Burton fits that mold. She says she enjoys dealing with outstanding employees, authors, and customers but also includes challenges in dealing with partners, authors, and others in her story. The book consists of her store’s low points.

Burton is a talented authorherselfl,f as this book will show. She says of her writing that she does best when she concentrates on three subjects: her private struggledealingwithhdisabledd child, the tendency of some people to try to censor or banbooksthath upset them, and the growth of the super chain bookstores and the dot .coms which have threatened her business over the years.

For those of us that live near her community and have watched the store since it opened, we still are surprised by her perception of those years compared to our own experiences with her store.

A great store and an essential part of the community, and the King’s English is necessary.

Brent M. Jones

Brent writes with quiet confidence and curiosity, exploring communication, reinvention, and what truly matters. His reflections invite readers to slow down, reconsider their stories, and reconnect with the values that guide them. Through books, essays, and his What Matters newsletter, he offers writing that doesn’t shout—but still speaks clearly.