An interview with Mammy Bears Books

Biblio checks in with Mammy Bears 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?

June 2018. Although I had been collecting and selling books for about 25 years prior to that! 2018 saw the beginning of my online bookstore.

What drew you to bookselling?

My collection was too big. Having checked, I discovered I owned several copies of the same book and so my bookstore was born.

Did you have any mentors in becoming a bookseller?

No, but I had sold antiques and collectables for many years. However, my interest in books has been a constant throughout my life...from my first 'borrow' at the public library when I was four to my attendance at book fairs and auctions. Books have always been part of my life.

What are your specialties as a dealer?

Vintage Children's Books, mainly. As this has always been my first love from Pookie to Alice in Wonderland.

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

Photographs of Biblical Sites by HH Kitchener

What is your favorite part of being a bookseller?

The hunt for that special book

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

No

What do you personally like to read? Collect?

I read an eclectic mix of genres from Sci-Fi to Reference. Iain M banks, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaimon to name but a few of my favourite authors. I collect illustrated childrens books..Arthur Rackham being one of my all time favs.

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

First Edition of Arthur Rackham's illustated Midsummer Nights Dream...NEVER!

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

A First Edition of Alice in Wonderland...

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

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks