I don’t believe this adage holds true in this day and time. More and more retailers are responding to obnoxious customers with being obnoxious in return. That’s if you can find some one working the floor in a Walmart or other giant warehouse type place. As a bookseller in an independent store, how does one … Read more
Last Seen Wearing Hillary Waugh–1952–Doubleday Crime Club-used This book is on practically every best mystery list I’ve seen. So, naturally, I didn’t really want it on mine, lol. But, sometimes good is good is good, and can’t be denied. Last Seen Wearing is a police procedural that out does all other police procedurals. Taking place in … Read more
Sidewalk booksellers were a common sight in New York City when I lived there. And I frequently bought from them. At first I was surprised they were allowed to set up shop–I didn’t notice a merchant’s license, which vendors selling anything from berets to Falafel needed in order to stay in business. A friend of … Read more
Sometimes subjects and ideas for articles are slim, and I struggle to come up with something meaningful, challenging, and pithy. Well, this is not a pithy one. It’s more of a dreamy reminiscence. About one book that trumps all others in my life. Mother Goose rhymes, nursery rhymes, captured me as a little tyke, and … Read more
How do you decide what book to purchase? Does your selection process change if in a small independent bookshop, or a large supermarket store, or online with the same–small, big, and virtual–amazon? Do you have a specific genre in mind? Author? Many authors? If needing a reference book, which will you choose? How do you … Read more
Mr. Smith’s Hat––Helen Reilly-1940-Doubleday Crime Club–used I kept struggling with which title of Helen Reilly’s I wanted on the list, then if I wondered if she should be on the list at all, then if she should be lower on the list or higher on the list, until I just said, enough already, and … Read more
Haunt of the Nightingale—John R. Riggs–1988–Dembner Books–used Ok, before you start thinking, ‘oh no, another obscure title from a small press no one’s ever heard of,” let me give you some quotes: “When it is all over, the situations and characters linger in the mind, which means that The Last Laugh is the work of … Read more
I have no idea! And that’s why I am writing this article, because I’ve had a long discussion on another site about vintage illustration being copied, and one argument against copying public domain images from rare books or postcards is that it hurts the rare paper ephemera business and book sellers. Does it? Do say, … Read more
