Bookseller Profile
Abebooks' uniqueness is our network of independent booksellers who work with us to provide the most diverse selection of rare, used and out-of-print books on the Internet. Take a moment and meet our member booksellers from around the globe. It is these sellers, with their experience, commitment and love of the used and out-of-print book business who help all our buyers find that treasure they've been looking for.
 Books
Ulster
Bookselling is not the easiest way to make a living. What keeps
you doing it?
My wife Hilary and I first started in the out-of-print book business
when we took over a shop in the centre of Belfast in 1988. Little
did we realize then what a struggle it would be to eke out a living
from selling books. I can't speak for her, but I suppose what keeps
me going is that I've been inflicted with the curse of eternal optimism,
always believing that untold wealth and success await us just around
the next corner. There is ever the hope that the ultimate collection
will fall into our laps, somehow, from somewhere. But despite the
pecuniary disadvantages of bookselling, it is rewarding to be your
own boss and master of your destiny, and all the years of struggle
have not diminished my enthusiasm for the business - there is still
the same level of eager anticipation when I look through a box of
proffered books. I knew I had a problem when I realized that I fantasized
more about buying a box of scarce books worth a few hundred pounds,
than winning the jackpot in the national lottery!
 How
did you choose your specialty?
When we closed our last shop in 1993 with the intention of working
from home, it was a logical progression to specialize in one field
or another. Our Irish section had always been the most popular over
the years, and as we already had a hard core of customers for these
books, the specialty really picked itself. Once we went on-line
in 1996 - being the first out-of-print booksellers in Northern Ireland
to do so - we naturally attracted a lot of enquiries from people
all over the world who were interested in their Ulster ancestry.
There was a lot of emigration from here in the 17th, 18th and 19th
centuries, particularly to North America, and Ulstermen and their
descendants have played a truly vital role in the early history
of the United States - much more than many people realize. It was
really because of the nature of the enquiries we received that our
focus shifted from Irish books generally to books on Ulster more
particularly; so although we still like to keep a good cross-section
of books relating to all parts of Ireland and periods of Irish history,
our forte would be in the variety of titles we have on all aspects
of the North of Ireland. We do sell books on subjects other than
Ireland though, and in 1998 Colette and Jane from Prospect House
Books in Donaghadee came on board as associated booksellers, bringing
with them an extensive and interesting selection of books, with
Travel and Natural History being two of their strong points.
 What
do you collect? Anything besides books?
Hilary has built up a small collection of bookmarks and costume
jewelry over the years, but for me there is only one all-consuming
passion - books. I can't settle in a house with no books and I don't
stay long in a town with no second-hand bookshop. Our eldest son
James (14) must collect money as he's always asking us for more.
Two-year-old Thomas has a large collection of broken toys.
Lots of people have "shop pets". Do you have one? Several?
We have always had cats. In our shop days, `Min' the tortoiseshell
would sun herself in the window on a good day, attracting a lot of
amused attention and comment from passers-by. These days we have two
black-and-white farm cats, Cutie and Magic, who have us driven to
distraction. The idea that cats are relaxing is as much a fallacy
as the theory that children keep you young!
What is the most unusual book you ever bought?
There have
been so many quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore which
have passed our way that it is difficult to select one above the
others; but a few years ago we bought a large collection of 17th
and 18th century Acts of Parliament, some of which had the most
intriguing, amusing and disturbing of titles. For instance, `An
Act to Prevent the Destroying and Murthering of Bastard Children
(1707)'!!; `An Act for the more Effectual Suppressing of Prophane
Cursing and Swearing (1695)' [No luck there, I'll bet]; `An Act
to Prevent the Throwing or Fireing of Squibs, Serpents, and other
Fire-Works (1731)'; `An Act for the more Effectual Punishing Stealers
of Lead or Iron Barrs fixed to Houses, or any Fences belonging thereunto
(1731)'. Despite being the respectable, law-abiding citizen that
I am, I couldn't help but be amused at the thought of people waking
up in the morning to find bits of their house missing. Maybe it's
just me? There were many other more wonderful titles amongst the
acts, most of them too politically incorrect these days to consider
mentioning.
Do you have any legendary stories you tell about incidents in
your store?
On a rainy winter's evening a woman in her thirties
came rushing into the shop with a bag full of books to sell. Having
restrained myself from choking at the sight of such tattered and
dog-eared paperback romance, I politely declined the offer. "NO!
You don't understand," she replied peevishly. "You HAVE to buy these
books - I've got a taxi waiting outside and I don't have the fare!"
On another occasion, a man had spent a great deal of time leafing
through and studying a large volume on heraldry which we'd just
bought in. "Do you do exchanges?" he asked after a while. I told
him that we would always consider them, foolishly making the assumption
that he meant books for books. He came back half an hour later with
a box containing an electric shaver, a tin money box, fishing tackle,
a cigarette lighter, a brace of ornamental ducks and a large selection
of other miscellaneous goodies. I've still got that tin money box.
It comes in handy at bookfairs. A schoolboy came in one day and
said, "I'm looking for Julius Caesar," to which I replied "I'm sorry,
son, he doesn't work here anymore." I thought it was a terrific
line, but as he was rather indignant about it, I had to apologize.
Another student asked for George Orwell's `1984'. I plucked a copy
from the shelves and handed it to him. He stood there eyeing it
for a while before asking "Is this the up-to-date version?" For
once, I was at a loss for words. Then there was the woman who was
aghast that I'd never heard of the world-famous children's author
Edna Blayton. You might have to think about that one for a while.
It came to me about fifteen minutes after she'd left the shop. The
one thing we were never short of in our shops was a humorous incident.
The above is just a small sample of the many.
 Books
You've Read More Than Once!
Primo Levi's `If This is a Man', an account of his experiences
in Auschwitz as an Italian Jew
It would be wrong to say that I `like' the book as such. I've come
back to it twice because it is the most telling account of concentration
camp experience that I've read. There is a fascination in reading
about how men cope with what would seem to be unbearable hardship;
how they behave when the thin veneer of `civilization' is stripped
away. `If This is a Man' brings home the excesses of brutality that
man can inflict on man, the apparent absurdity of behaviour of people
given absolute power over others and of those who are in a state
of complete abjection; but it also demonstrates the resilience of
mankind under the harshest of circumstances and from that point
of view it is a very positive experience. It would take someone
of much greater intellectual capability than me to competently put
across the importance of this book and why the style of writing
is particularly effective etc. What I can tell you is that it is
worth a read - so seek out a copy, if you can - but don't ask me,
my copy's not for sale!
- Books Ulster
The views of the author, expressed above, are not necessarily those of the Advanced Book Exchange
|
 |
|
