An interview with Ravenroost Books
Biblio checks in with Ravenroost Books to learn more about their book business, collecting interests and more! To view and shop their inventory, click here.
When did you get started in bookselling?
While working as a research scientist in the 1990s, the mystique and challenge of scouting for, researching and learning about vintage and scarce titles drew me in as a hobby.
What drew you to bookselling?
Since early childhood I have always been an avid reader. The library was a treasured refuge, opening the door for me to the outside world, to science and to a quest to keep learning and exploring.
Did you have any mentors in becoming a bookseller?
The books themselves were always my mentors, although I have to say the books of John Dunning propelled me into the lure and excitement of book scouting.
What are your specialties as a dealer?
I started out gravitating toward those subject areas closest to my professional and personal interests-natural sciences, biology, botany and botanical illustration, history of science and medicine, gardening, cooking...but also have a liberal arts background and appreciate literature, poetry (and of course Edgar Allan Poe who once upon a midnight dreary inspired the name Ravenroost). Occasional forays into sci-fi, fantasy, mystery and escapist fiction have made my book quests and offerings pretty eclectic.
What's the most amazing book you've ever sold?
There have been plenty I would have liked to keep, but sharing these gems and entrusting them into the care of others is very satisfying to me.
What is your favorite part of being a bookseller?
Every book is a new experience. And for every book, a good home.
Do you have an open storefront or have you in the past?
As I started out as a part time hobbyist, I evolved into the flexibility of cyberspace as my preferred storefront.
If so, do/did you have any bookstore pets?
My "bookstore" pets have included little parrots and rescued felines. While they do not help out physically in the bookstore areas, they often remind me to stop for meals and snacks.
What is the funniest / strangest / scariest thing that ever happened in your store?
I guess it is a toss up between when a bat somehow flew in to my main book room (I took off the screens of the windows, closed the door and let Boris find his own way out) and when I answered the phone only to hear a very familiar voice which at first I could not place. It was not until later in the conversation when discussing payment and delivery options that I realized I was speaking with a famous talk show host/literary critic/celebrity. Sorry I can't drop the name-I value my customers' privacy as much as my own!
What is your favorite bookshop (other than your own)?
Oh, there are so many-I honestly don't have an answer. Each bookshop is a realm unto itself.
What do you personally like to read? Collect?
I oscillate between escapist fiction for reading and gardening and nature for collecting. I also dabble in the grey zone of commonalities among sciences and various religious philosophies.
What's your favorite book you personally own? Would you sell it, if the price were right?
Another impossible question. Lets just say there are some that would be last on my list to re-home before I depart this world!
What one book would you buy if price were no object?
I cannot even imagine that scenario.
If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring three books, what would they be?
Probably some sort of survival or field guide, a foraging "cookbook" and an anthology of escapist fiction to distract me from my dire situation.
