Miranda Books

Interview with Jason Miranda of Miranda Books

When did you get started in bookselling?

2023

What drew you to bookselling?

I've worked in publishing on the design and production side. I wanted to try another facet of the book business.

Did you have any mentors in becoming a bookseller?

Yes. Chris Korczak.

What are your specialties as a dealer?

Poetry, I like the idea of selling any book I wish I had the time to read. I'm a generalist by nature.

What's the most amazing book you've ever sold?

My first book.

What is your favorite part of being a bookseller?

Shipping a book to a new home.

Do you have an open storefront or have you in the past?

No.

If so, do/did you have any bookstore pets?

No.

What is the funniest / strangest / scariest thing that ever happened in your store?

My now-wife worked at Harvard Bookstore and I was in there probably 5 times a month. But we didn't meet until a few years after she left. I like to think we met before we met.

What is your favorite bookshop (other than your own)?

My favorite bookstores are long closed, but they live in my memory: Avenue Victor Hugo Books and Waterstone's. Both were on Newbury Street in Boston, MA.

What do you personally like to read? Collect?

Mid-20th-century American poetry — Berryman, Lowell.

What's your favorite book you personally own? Would you sell it, if the price were right?

A book I own only in mimeograph — of my college poetry professor and friend.

What one book would you buy if price were no object?

Gutenberg Bible

If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring three books, what would they be?

3 blank journals