An interview with Squirrel Away Books
Biblio checks in with Squirrel Away 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?
Squirrel Away Books was started in the summer of 1999. We have been selling non-stop online since 2003.
What drew you to bookselling?
Online bookselling is a win/win/win/win proposition. It's a win for the people we purchase books from, who just want the massive weight in books to go away. It's a win for the purchaser, who has finally found the book they want at a reasonable price. It's a win for us, who make a little profit on the endeavor. And it's a win for the books, which might otherwise end up in a landfill. It is also a win for future generations, who might continue to be educated and amused by the contents of the books.
Did you have any mentors in becoming a bookseller?
Yes. Everyone who encouraged me to read and love books as a child.
What are your specialties as a dealer?
We tend to sell things other people pass by. We enjoy the possibility that someone might be looking for some old magazine or coloring book, or how-to, or user's manual. We aim to please.
What's the most amazing book you've ever sold?
We sold a helicopter manual for a WWII Pratt and Whitney to Japan. We always wondered if they got the thing flying again.
What is your favorite part of being a bookseller?
Making people happy.
Do you have an open storefront or have you in the past?
We have never found it necessary to put together a brick and mortar store.
If so, do/did you have any bookstore pets?
No pets here.
What is the funniest / strangest / scariest thing that ever happened in your store?
We once sold a book about how to avoid financial litigation to a fellow who insisted on meeting in a grocery store parking lot and paying cash. It was creepy, and we've laughed about it ever since.
What do you personally like to read? Collect?
I personally love to read speculative fiction.
What's your favorite book you personally own? Would you sell it, if the price were right?
I own several copies of books that were signed to me specifically. I'm pretty sure no one would want to pay me enough to make it worth my while to sell them.
What one book would you buy if price were no object?
The Gutenberg Bible.
If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring three books, what would they be?
A book on hut-building. A book on net-fishing. A book on how to collect water. If I could find a book that included all three, I'd add something more like how to build a sat phone out of a coconut.
