An interview with W. Fraser Sandercombe

Biblio checks in with W. Fraser Sandercombe 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?

1997

What drew you to bookselling?

I was living from painting to painting and magazine article to magazine article when I realized I knew enough about books that I could actually turn my love for them into money. So I did.

Did you have any mentors in becoming a bookseller?

Leonard Shoup.

What are your specialties as a dealer?

Fantasy, science fiction, horror and most other fictional genres.

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

Either the complete set of Perry Rhodan books - twice. Or A Star's Progress by Katherine Everard, more commonly known as Gore Vidal.

What is your favorite part of being a bookseller?

It's like Christmas every day. You never know what might be coming your way.

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

No.

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

Endless Shores in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia.

What do you personally like to read? Collect?

These days, for reading, mostly action adventure, Lee Child, Robert Crais, Michael Connolly, James Lee Burke, et cetera. For collecting, nice editions of really good fantasy.

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

A second edition of The Lord of the Rings. Sure, I would sell it.

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

A first edition of Huckleberry Finn, the one printed in Canada before the U.S. publisher could release it.

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

October Country by Ray Bradbury, Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway, and The Lord of the Rings.