Got Books? Conversations with Booksellers

Welcome back to Got Books, the podcast where we talk to booksellers all around the world. My guest today is Alex, co-founder of the first and only bookshop selling new english books in Lisbon, Portugal, Salted Books. This conversation was yet another proof, in case you needed one, that women can indeed do it all, if they set their mind to it. Alex has started Salted Books with her partner Mark, and she has done so without giving up her work and while raising two children. She’s created a magical space that only opened its doors about 5 months ago but has already received raving reviews from readers and writers in Lisbon, and if you head over to their Instagram page you’ll see why. The book curation couldn’t be more relevant, the design of the space is bold and beautiful and it just feels fresh and exciting and like you want to be there. Alex is also hosting intimate and very safe writing spaces, where early on a Tuesday mornings writers come together to write in silence, by candlelight. She’s bringing new voices to Lisbon and encouraging those in Lisbon to write and get creative. This conversation felt encouraging and uplifting and it confirmed a suspicion I’ve had for a while now, interviewing bookshop owners all around the world: starting and running a bookshop is a bit of an art form and there’s a lot of artistic freedom in how it can be done. Here’s my conversation with Alex. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Welcome back to Got Books, the podcast where we talk to booksellers all around the world. My guest today is Edgars, owner of Robert’s Books, in Riga, Latvia. Robert’s Books was Riga’s first English bookshop and it has become, over the years, much more than that - a community space, a place to meet, work, relax, think, discuss, have fun, read and just be. It has also been a space for social experiments, one of its more recent ones involving a bit of a.. grey area: a sex shop inside the bookshop. Robert’s Books first opened its doors in 2008 and since then has changed its location twice. Edgars story of how he came to own Robert’s Books is perhaps one of the most unbelievable stories I’ve come across, one fit for a novel. The father of Robert’s Books is journalist Robert Cottrell, who then gifted the shop to Edgars. Not a bad start to bookselling. Edgars was very young at the time, but he was not alone, he had a small team and together they not only kept the shop open, but they made it thrive and become the community and safe haven it is today. Here’s my conversation with Edgars. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Welcome back to Got Books, the podcast where we talk to booksellers all around the world. My guest today is Danny Caine, bookseller and co-owner of ⁠The Raven Bookstore⁠ in Lawrence, Kansas. The Raven was founded in 1987 as a mystery-specialty store, and today you can walk in to find books of fiction, current events, environmental writing, children's books, science fiction, romance, and poetry. The poetry section in particular might have something to do with today’s guest, who is himself a published poet. But we’ll come back to that. In recent years, the Raven and especially it’s majority owner Danny have become small business and anti-Amazon activists, through viral tweets turned into books, media appearances, such as this one, and a growing collection of activist zines. And as of 2022, the Raven is one of the very few employee-owned bookstores. The Raven stands for something. It believes that reading books won't fix the world's problems, but they can be a pretty good place to start. It believes that Amazon is bad and the United States Postal Service is good. And it believes that small businesses and independent bookstores are vital to their communities. Danny wrote 2 books on the topic too, so I’ve invited him on Got Books to talk about his career as a bookseller, his popular books encouraging us to protect independent bookstores and of course..books. Here’s my conversation with Danny Caine, from The Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Welcome back to Got Books, the podcast where we talk to booksellers all around the world.  Today we are going to the United States, in Madison, New Jersey, to a bookshop with the most fitting of names - The Nature of Reading. The concept of this bookshop feels quite unique to me: pulling together the joy and wonder of the natural world with the knowledge and passion to fight for its survival. It is an environmental bookstore sand it specializes in seasonal reading, nature writing, and climate change books, helping spread the messages of local environmental groups and leading both children and adults to reconnect with nature and reading.I love so many things about this bookshop - how it began as a pandemic quest for more meaning, how young and brave Hailey, its founder, is, how it first started as a pop up bookshop and then with community support turned into what it is today, how it has a tree inside the shop (ok, not a real tree..but not all kids can tell), and especially how it wants to raise awareness and action when it comes to the climate crisis by taking a gentle approach rooted in love and appreciation for nature. Here's my conversation with Hailey. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

On this mini episode, I talk about niche and quirky bookshops from different parts of the world. Pillow-Cat Books is all about animals in books. Wonderland Bookshop! are all in on the Alice-in-Wonderland theme. Robert Humm & Co. is "Britain's largest railway bookshop". Libreria il Mare in Italy is a store that's all about H2O. Libreria Griot is an Italian bookstore that's all about African literature. Heading to Berlin, we've got the Bibliotheca-Culinaria Kochbuchantiquariat, a food lover's paradise, with over 15,000 vintage cookbooks. In London, Bookmarks is the place to be for radical and socialist reads. Now, let's cross the Channel to Librairie des Femmes, a Parisian gem that celebrates women's writing. La Anonima, in Madrid, aims to pay tribute to those women who have been silenced, unable to sign their texts, and have signed, in many cases, as Anonymous. Like Chicago’s Women and Children First In Brussels, it's a two-in-one deal at Cook & Book. This bookstore slash restaurant offers nine unique rooms with different atmospheres and book selections. And for all you theater buffs, head to Germany's EINAR & BERT THEATERBUCHHANDLUNG. From children's theater to operas, they've got all things stage-related. Finally, in the heart of Madrid, we've got La Librería, a treasure trove of literature dedicated to the vibrant history and legends of Madrid. La Casquería is a bookstore located in a stall at the San Fernando market in Lavapiés. Just like neighboring fruit stands, butchers, and fishmongers, here, everything is sold by weight." And The Nature of Reading is an environmental bookstore specializing in seasonal reading, nature writing, and climate change books, pulling together the joy and wonder of the natural world with the knowledge and passion to fight for its survival. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Welcome back to Got Books, the podcast where we talk to booksellers all around the world. And on today’s episode I am so very glad to be going to Ireland, probably my favourite place in the world. It was my home for a bit over 5 years and more importantly it’s the home of some pretty amazing bookshops. I had a few favourites during my time in Dublin, but today we’ll be going to Ireland’s west coast, to a little town called Westport and a bookshop like no other, Tertulia. Tertulia describes itself as a magical place, which may or may not be a Harry Potter reference. Part of its magic is the story of its owners, Neil and Brid. In 1997, after Neil finished working on “Saving Private Ryan”, they drove up to Mayo in their camper van and at some point took a wrong turn. They ended up outside a dilapidated old school house overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, had a cup of tea and thought what would it be like to live here, leave behind the madness of London, escaping to the ocean and see what happens. Well they put an offer that day on the school house and it was accepted. They’re still there to tell the story 23 years later. The bookshop felt to them like a natural progression and it opened its doors just a few years ago. Since then, despite a pandemic and being set in a small town with quite a few other bookshops around, Tertulia has become many people’s favourite place. So I sat down for a virtual cup of tea with Brid and Neil to hear more about their magical bookshop on the West coast of Ireland. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Today we are traveling to the south of Spain, to get some sun and more importantly talk to Federico, a bookseller in Malaga's Libreria Luces. This is a bookshop that describes itself as an experience, a literary and cultural experience. Just last week it turned 20, which, if you've been listening to this podcast for a while now, you know is a major achievement for an independent bookstore. If Libreria Luces could talk, it would have quite a few stories to tell: not only did it survive a pandemic, but it also made it through a very loud, years-long period of a subway station being constructed just on its doorstep - you can just imagine how good that can be for business. But despite the odds, it perseveres, and it continues on its mission to promote reading as a fundamental activity in people's lives. On its website, Libreria Luces puts sustainability at the very top of its list of values, something I haven't seen any other bookshop do. They also do a million partnerships, turning the city itself into one big bookshop. They're 20 years old and growing..and as any 20 year old will have experienced, they're constantly changing, learning and embracing new social media platforms. If your summer plans take you to Malaga this year, make sure you pay them a visit.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Today we are going back to Australia, to a small town called Kiama. Here we'll step into Bouquiniste https://shop.bouquiniste.com.au/, founded in 2017 by Clay and Hannah, two Kiama locals with a background in writing, publishing, retail, hospitality.. and one of them a former DJ. That's Clay, my guest today. When you enter the store, you'll see a disco ball, and that gives you an idea of the space you've just stepped into. This is not a quiet bookstore, but rather a welcoming, a little loud, a little funky place, where you can go in for a chat, a coffee, a glass of wine, and of course..books. The space has a nice history too. Back in 1983, Clay’s parents first leased the space where the bookstore is now for their optical business. So he actually grew up playing on the shop floor.  The space is small, which means you'll find highly curated bookshelves. You're also likely to come in and find yourself in the middle of a book event of some sort, maybe a party, or accidently join the Bouquiniste monthly bookclub. Make sure you stop by if you're in Kiama, I definitely will.. I already promised Clay. Before we listen to my conversation with today's bookseller, I did want to let you know that I'm working on a book recommendation project. So that every other week, I can bring you a new book, either a personal favourite or one that Got Books guests have recommended here on the podcast. Stay tuned for this, I'll announce it on our social media once it's ready. And now, back to my chat with Clay, enjoy! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Harmony Bookshop opened its doors on Varanasi’s Assi Ghat in December 1996 and ever since it has grown into a cultural hub, bringing together scholars, artists, researchers, and all other book loving travelers, from India and abroad. This is a bookshop like no other. To enter, you must first remove your shoes. After all, books are sacred..and in this small bookshop many of them are resting on the floor and its owner and bookseller, Rakesh, would not like to see them damaged. He's built an incredible collection, spanning  a diverse range of books on India and other subjects: academic texts by Indologists and social scientists, treatises on spirituality and yoga, sumptuous art books, literary fiction and much more. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

If you walk down Linienstraße in the heart of Berlin's gentrified neighborhood, Mitte, you will come across beautiful little shops, a Japanese cafe, cozy restaurants, and more recently.. an intriguing space called simply.. About. This is a bookshop with a unique concept: its owner, former art curator, picks a theme and then runs with it, selecting books that fit into this theme..for a while. Every 3 months or so, the theme changes. The concept of the bookshop (focusing on temporary topics) expands and occasionally authors, artists are invited to choose a topic and to curate the selection of books. In the future, Gesine, About's owner, plans to invite a bookseller from another city/country to shape the program of the bookshop, with the idea to open up to further perspectives and controversies. About's owner picked this neighbourhood, Berlin Mitte, because she feels independent bookshops should also serve as community spaces, representing a counterbalance in areas otherwise absorbed by purely commercial enterprises. A space where people can come together, have a cup of coffee, discuss and dissect one topic at a time, and of course discover a book they may otherwise never have. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Welcome back to Got Books?, Season 3! On this episode, I spoke to the new booksellers of Pergamo, the oldest bookshop still in existence in Madrid, Spain. Jorge F. Hernandez and Pablo Cerezo come from two different generations and share a love of books, writing and of course, bookshops. They have just recently taken over Pergamo and are in the process of re-inventing it and opening its doors once again.  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Today we will be going back to Cappelens Forslag, a bookshop that I'm sure you remember from our first season. And if you missed that episode, do go back and give it a listen, it's a conversation I loved where we even discuss a famous book heist. My guest today is Pil Cappelen Smith, booksellers, owner of Cappelens Forslag and now also a publisher. Christmas may not be his favourite season, but he did join me for a conversation about Christmas book shopping, the joys of the holidays (despite their way-too-capitalistic flair) and shared his perhaps unusual choice of favourite story set around this time of year. Here's my conversation with Pil. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Welcome back to Got Books, the podcast where we talk to booksellers from all around the world. And welcome to this short Christmas series, meant as a mini-Advent Calendar to get you in the holiday spirit. From Dec 3rd to Dec 17th, we'll be publishing an episode every Monday and Friday - that's 5 Christmas episodes for you, in which we're bringing back some of the booksellers that we know and love from past episodes, so they can tell us how they're preparing their bookshops for Christmas, what books to get for the special people in our lives, and what they like or..don't like at all about the holiday season. Today's conversation brings you back two booksellers who I'm sure you remember from a not so distant episode - Julia König and David Bloomfield are two of the charming and very knowledgeable booksellers that will welcome you to Golden Hare. This beautiful independent bookshop in Edinburgh's Stockbridge covers all genres from cookery to travel, kid's picture books to science fiction. And around Christmas time it's the perfect place to go to, as they they also have a fireplace, a Christmas tree and handwritten book recommendations from their staff. Julia and David were my guests on the second episode of Season 2 and are back today for a much more Christmasy conversation. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Welcome back to Got Books, the podcast where we talk to booksellers from all around the world. And welcome to this short Christmas series, meant as a mini-Advent Calendar to get you in the holiday spirit. From Dec 3rd to Dec 17th, we'll be publishing an episode every Monday and Friday - that's 5 Christmas episodes for you, in which we're bringing back some of the booksellers that we know and love from past episodes, so they can tell us how they're preparing their bookshops for Christmas, what books to get for the special people in our lives, and what they like or..don't like at all about the holiday season. Today's conversation may take you back in time, as my guest is Shaun Bythell, whose books are the inspiration for this podcast and who was also our very first guest back in January. Shaun's books are diaries of his time as a bookseller, all inspired by his many years of running Scotland's second largest second hand bookshop, fittingly called.. The Bookshop. You can find it in a small town where 1,000 people live and 10,000 visit every year - Wigtown, Scotland’s National Booktown. I've invited Shaun today to tell us how he feels about Christmas, what he does to prepare his bookshop for the holidays and what books he thinks we should get as presents this year. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Welcome back to Got Books, the podcast where we talk to booksellers from all around the world. And welcome to this short Christmas series, meant as a mini-Advent Calendar to get you in the holiday spirit. From Dec 3rd to Dec 17th, we'll be publishing an episode every Monday and Friday - that's 5 Christmas episodes for you, in which we're bringing back some of the booksellers that we know and love from past episodes, so they can tell us how they're preparing their bookshops for Christmas, what books to get for the special people in our lives, and what they like or..don't like at all about the holiday season. Today you can eavesdrop on my conversation with Stephen Fowler, an old friend of ours on Got Books who I'm sure you remember from Season 1. Stephen runs perhaps one of the quirkiest bookshops in the world, called the Monkey's Paw in Toronto. He specialises in odd books dated before 1980 and he's come to share some the latest additions to his collection on today's episode. His bookshop is also known for its famous BiblioMat, a vending machine that spits out a randomly selected vintage volume in exchange for a token. So if happen to be in Toronto and you're feeling lucky, pay a visit to the Monkey's Paw and see what the Bibliomat has in store for you. If you're not there though, this conversation is as close as it gets. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Welcome back to Got Books, the podcast where we talk to booksellers from all around the world. And welcome to this short Christmas series, meant as a mini-Advent Calendar to get you in the holiday spirit. From Dec 3rd to Dec 17th, we'll be publishing an episode every Monday and Friday - that's 5 Christmas episodes for you, in which we're bringing back some of the booksellers that we know and love from past episodes, so they can tell us how they're preparing their bookshops for Christmas, what books to get for the special people in our lives, and what they like or..don't like at all about the holiday season. Today I will be chatting with Charlotte Delattre, who I am sure you remember from one of our very episodes in season 1. Charlotte is the charming co-owner of Desperate Literature in Madrid, a truly magical independent bookshop in the heart of the city, welcoming Madrilenos, travelers and unidentified walk-ins all year round. In fact, Desperate Literature is even open on Christmas Day, to provide a warm bookish space for those who may not yet have Christmas plans. I'm so glad Charlotte agreed to come back to Got Books to tell us about Christmas at Desperate Literature. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Welcome back to Got Books, the podcast about books, booksellers and bookmakers. Today I'll share with you 5 articles I read this week from the world of books, and then we'll chat to my guest Emily Feetham about one of her favourite books this year. Let's get to it. The Marginalian gives us a wonderful list of best books https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/01/30/writers-top-ten-favorite-books/ 11 New Books to be grateful for this week: https://lithub.com/11-new-books-to-be-grateful-for-this-week/ Samir Mansour is rebuilding his bookstore in Gaza: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/mena/sharjah-palestinian-publisher-to-rebuild-destroyed-library-after-sheikha-bodours-support Book-Ish, a Welsh indie bookstore, is crowdfunding https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-keep-bookish-on-the-high-street?utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer And finally, what a year for African Writing: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/nov/20/from-the-booker-to-the-nobel-why-2021-is-a-great-year-for-african-writing --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Publishing houses. Big and small, they are the book makers, the ones who work with the authors we love to make their books and dreams come to life. They support writers throughout the exciting and perhaps sometimes terrifying journey of turning their work from a manuscript into a book, to be found on the shelves of our bookshops. Today we will enter the world of a small, artisan publishing house in Spain - Sabina Editorial, a publishing house passionate about books well made that talk about the things that matter. And that are written by women. The publishing industry is shifting and adapting, and the role of small independent publishing houses may be changing with it. Many writers are starting to look at small presses first, perhaps preferring the more advantageous contract terms they can offer. Small publishing houses can also be more focused and selective, dedicating themselves entirely to women writers, LGBTQ+ writers, or writers of colour. They can, perhaps more than large publishers, enjoy the freedom to take a risk on experimental writing or on a new form of poetry, bringing us new voices and different approaches from established writers. They are essential in keeping diversity in publishing alive. My guest today is Carmen Oliart, one of the women in charge of Sabina Editorial. Carmen has kindly agreed to give us an hour of her time to talk about what she does, what is important for her when deciding to publish a book and why feminine freedom is a concept we should care about. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Welcome back to Got Books. Today, I want to share books related news that caught my eye this week that I hope you'll find interesting, and we'll then move on to review one of my favourite books of the past years. Let's get started. First, an article I read in the BBC talks about Somali women breaking tradition to write novels. For centuries, Somalia has been known as the "nation of poets" but this tradition has largely been the preserve of men. It is unusual for Somali women to be the primary storytellers, yet they are now the ones taking on that mantle when living abroad. One of these storytellers is Ali Farah, who says this is because they have "more space" outside Somalia to pursue their literary ambitions - unshackled as they are from the cultural expectations placed upon them in a male-dominated society. You can read more about Ali Farah's work and new book in the BBC article https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58845340 Speaking of women in literature, a woman won a million-euro Spanish literary prize. But then It turned out that ‘she’ was actually three men. Maybe it won't surprise you to hear that the work of one woman was, it turned out, the equivalent of the work of three men. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/10/17/carmen-mola-spain-gender-reveal-female-writer-three-men/ Next up, we go to Israel, where two of the biggest bookstores say they are no longer selling works by Irish author Sally Rooney, after she refused to allow an Israeli publisher to translate her new book into Hebrew. You may have heard about this already, as it was also a big Twitter event, but essentially: Sally Rooney said it was in support of calls to boycott Israel over its policies towards the Palestinians. The move by the bookstores follows a backlash against Rooney's decision. And finally, before we go to our book review, I thought I'd share with you a list of lists. A few friends asked me recently what to read - autumn and winter and good times to cozy up with a book, but..which book? Lithub has taken a mathematical approach to this conundrum and they compiled The Ultimate Fall 2021 Books - by looking over a total of 36 lists, which together recommended over 400 books being published this autumn. Seventy-seven of those 400 were recommended at least three times, and that's how they made it on this list of list. I'll just tell you the top 5 and link the article so you can check them all out. So top 5 most mentioned books on lists of books are - Colson Whitehead, Harlem Shuffle; the just mentioned Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You (which by the way we reviewed on a previous episode, if you're curious); Lauren Groff, Matrix; Anthony Doerr, Cloud Cuckoo Land; and Jonathan Franzen, Crossroads. https://lithub.com/the-ultimate-fall-2021-books-preview/ And now, let's chat to Daniela Barani about a great book: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message

Diwan is a story, not just a store. And today's we will hear the story of this Egyptian bookshop from its founder, Nadia Wassef. Opened in 2002 as the only independent bookstore of its kind in Egypt, Diwan enchants its patrons with its mix of east and west, old and new, serious and playful.  They say ... "Our approach is to enrich our clients’ lives by transforming the act of “buying a book” into a cultural, artistic, and culinary experience, and offering them a visually appealing and relaxing ambiance every time they step into our stores." It is all about intentionality: every detail is thought through, from the name - Diwan, to the aesthetic of the bookshops, and of course to their wide book selection, in Arabic, but also English, French and German. If you cannot visit Cairo and Diwan at the moment, what you can do is read Nadia Wassef's very recently published book, Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller. The book will take you back in time, to visit the Cairo of long ago, through the eyes of a charming bookseller. It will make you even more aware of the meaning of a bookshop for a community, even in times as troubling as a revolution. Nadia kindly agreed to chat with me today about Diwan, her all time favourite books, and what success means for a bookshop. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gotbooks/message