Booksellers are largely Luddite in nature. Most have, therefore, only recently come to blogging. That said, the last year has seen a (relative) explosion of bookselling blogs: from J Godsey’s link-heavy Bibliophile Bullpen to Hugh Howell’s advice-oriented Entrepeneurial Bookselling, from Bookfinder’s and Fine Books and Collections’ respective spin-offs to the eminently readable musings of Maine neighbors Ms. Sarah and Mr. Kahn. Lately it seems every Tom (Jones), (Moby) Dick, and Harry (Potter) book dealer has their own blog.

So why another? Because as much as I enjoy the blogs listed above (and many that aren’t), none deal in very much depth with our actual stock-in-trade: the books. No one is better than Sarah for stories of life in an open shop; Godsey offers great repair advice, Ian is wise and knowledgeable in the ways of the rare book world. But when it comes to the nitty-gritty details of the books that cross our desks, most of these blogs are largely (and strangely) silent. None of which is to say that these content decisions are faults, but rather merely a way sketching out my own direction for this space.

I have in mind something closer to what non-booksellers are doing at blogs like The Hyde Collection Catablog and Giornale Nuovo. What I hope to write about are the interesting items I come across, and the stories and thoughts I have about them that don’t/can’t/won’t make it into the catalog description. With occasional digressions, I plan to keep the focused here that have in the shop: the books themselves. Hence, the rather literal title of the blog above, which also happens to be the place to drop me a line. Welcome.