PODCAST · arts
Behind the Bookshelves
by AbeBooks
A podcast from AbeBooks. This series is dedicated to telling the stories behind books and the people who love them. We'll salute classic novels and famous authors, investigate long-forgotten books, and discuss publishing houses, libraries, bookshops, and anyone else with a bookish story to tell.
Episodes
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The food writing coach
We're joined by Dianne Jacob, a writing coach who specializes in food writing. Dianne tutors would-be writers on writing and publishing books, and also writing freelance articles, and blogging. Many of her students have signed publishing deals with major publishers. Dianne is the author of Will...
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Koalas Uncovered
We go Down Under to learn about koalas with Australian zoologist Danielle Clode, who has written a new book called Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future. Koalas regularly appeared in Danielle’s backyard, but it was only when a bushfire came close that she started to pay closer…
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Tom Ayling on TikTok
We're joined by Tom Ayling who works for Jonkers Rare Books in Henley on Thames, in the UK. Tom has uploaded hundreds of videos to TikTok about a wide variety of bookish subjects, from The Hobbit first edition to rare bibles, Shakespeare First Folios, and collectible Harry Potters. Tom’s a master...
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Historic cemeteries
Our Halloween episode. We're joined by Greg Melville, who is the author of a new book called Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of America’s Cemeteries. Greg has toured the United States, visiting notable historic cemeteries from Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts, to Arlington...
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Collecting Toni Morrison the editor
We speak to Ariana Valderrama who has just won the inaugural David Ruggles Prize, which is a new book collecting contest designed to encourage and support young collectors of color. Ariana decided to focus on Toni Morrison but not her rather expensive first editions. Instead Ariana collects books...
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Sistine Chapel luxury art book
In this episode, we learn about a remarkable luxury art book that celebrates Rome's Sistine Chapel. Nicholas Callaway and Manuela Roosevelt join us from Callaway Arts and Media. They've produced a 3-volume limited edition book about the Sistine Chapel that features 1:1 scale images of the…
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Collecting John le Carre
Our guest is Steven Ritterman, who joins us from New York. Steven has a collection of more than 300 John le Carré books, including first editions, signed copies, galleys and variants. John le Carré - who died in 2020 - is best known for his spy novels, particularly The Spy Who Came in from the…
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Cornwall poet Charles Causley
We're heading off to Cornwall to learn about the poet Charles Causley. His peers in the 1970s regarded his poetry to be on par with Ted Hughes and John Betjeman. Our guest is Nicola Nuttall who is acting director of the Charles Causley Trust, a registered charity that preserves Causley's legacy....
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ABAA diversity internship
We meet Alba Melgar-C'De Baca who is currently working as an intern at rare book firm Type Punch Matrix through a new internship program organized by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA). The program places students or recent graduates who identify as Black, indigenous, or...
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Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull
We are discussing two of the greatest leaders in Native American history – Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Both members of the Sioux Nation, they led the native forces at the Battle of Little Big Horn where General Custer famously met his end. Our guest is Mark Lee Gardner, the author of a new book...
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Where Great Writers Write
We welcome back author Alex Johnson, who has just released a new book called Rooms of their Own: Where Great Writers Write. It’s a beautifully illustrated book that describes the writing locations used by 50 famous authors. Alex show us attics, hotel rooms, huts, bedrooms, and basements where…
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The Mainstone Press
The Mainstone Press publishes beautifully crafted books and limited edition prints on a range of British artists, who worked in the first half of the 20th century, artists such as Eric Ravilious, Edward Bawden, Paul Nash, and John Piper. We speak to Tim Mainstone, who runs this independent...
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Minnesota Antiquarian Book Fair
We speak to Jennifer Phillips from the Minnesota Antiquarian Book Fair, which takes place on July 8-9 in St. Paul, Minnesota. We learn about the bookselling community in this part of the Midwest and how the fair aims to attract a new generation of book collectors.
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Yiddish Book Center
The Yiddish Book Center was founded in 1980 by Aaron Lansky, a 24-year-old graduate student of Yiddish literature. He realized that many Yiddish books were being lost and he organized a campaign to save as many as possible. The Center, located in Amherst, Massachusetts, grew out of that campaign....
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Sensational Books at the Bodleian
We're talking about a new exhibition at the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford, which celebrates touching, tasting, seeing, smelling and hearing books. It looks at the sensory appeal of reading physical books from flip-books to pop-ups and even a book made from processed cheese slices. They even…
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Factotum in the Book Trade
We speak to retired bookseller Marius Kociejowski about his new book, A Factotum in the Book Trade. Marius began life in rural Ontario in Canada but moved to London where he embarked a long career in antiquarian bookselling with several notable firms. His book is a series of essays on the...
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Collecting Tolkien
We are talking about collecting books and art associated with JRR Tolkien, the author who gave us The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Our guest is Mark Faith, who runs Festival Art and Books, a bookselling firm located near Machynlleth in Wales that has specialized in rare Tolkien books and...
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Berwyn Bookshop Rising from the Ashes
Last November, Emma Littler could only look on in shock as her employer's warehouse filled with 400,000 books burned to the ground. The fire was devastating for Berwyn Books, located in Wales. But a new bookselling business, called the Berwyn Bookshop, is rising from the ashes. Emma and her…
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The Insect Crisis
We are talking to journalist Oliver Milman about his new book, The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires that Run the World. Oliver, who is the environment correspondent on The Guardian newspaper, addresses the shocking decline in the number of insects in the world. He outlines the overall...
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Read Dangerously
We are talking about the art of reading dangerously with guest Iranian American author Azar Nafisi, who was written a book called Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times. In 2003, Azar’s memoir Reading Lolita in Tehran became a worldwide bestseller as she shared her...
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David Ruggles Book Collecting Prize
Today we are learning about the David Ruggles Prize, which is a book collecting contest designed to encourage and support young collectors of color. Our guests are Sara Powell, who is one of the prize judges, and Pat Olson, who is Assistant to the Prize Jury.
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On Gold Mountain
On Gold Mountain by Lisa See was published in 1995. It’s a remarkable memoir that tells the story of one Chinese American family and their immigrant experience. The book is still making headlines today. It has been adapted into an opera with a new production planned for May, and it has also…
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The First Kennedys
Author Neal Thompson is our guest as we discuss his latest book - The First Kennedys: The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty, which describes the early years of the family made world famous by John F Kennedy. We learn how two young Irish people arrived in Boston, met and married and created a...
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Heartbreak
Today we consider broken hearts. Our guest is journalist Florence Williams who has written a book called Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey. Sadly, Florence’s marriage unexpectedly collapsed after 25 years and she decided to investigate the science behind a broken heart and turned her...
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Gwendolyn Brooks at the Morgan
In 1950, poet Gwendolyn Brooks became the first Black person to win a Pulitzer Prize following her second book, Annie Allen. We speak to Nic Caldwell from the Morgan Library & Museum in New York about their latest exhibition - Gwendolyn Brooks: A Poet’s Work In Community. We learn about…
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Bookselling in Maine
We speak to Steve Powell, who runs the Bar Harbor Book Shop on Mount Desert Island in Maine. He sells as the Mystery Cove Book Shop on AbeBooks. Steve's been selling books for 40 years and is an expert in collectible mystery and crime books. Learn about his most expensive sale, a couple of…
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Moraine Books in Finland
Join us as we speak to Mikko and Mari Vartiainen from Moraine Books in Finland. This is a family business selling used and antiquarian books - Mari is Mikko's daughter. We learn about the evolution of their business, which included publishing, and discuss the huge influence of Tove Jansson and…
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Grapes of Wrath manuscript
This episode is about the great American author John Steinbeck and his novel, The Grapes of Wrath. We are speaking to Ellen Ffrench from SP Books, which has published a large format reproduction of Steinbeck’s original handwritten manuscript. Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath in 1938, writing…
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The Haunted Bookshop
Join us as we speak to Nialle Sylvan from the Haunted Bookshop in Iowa City. We learn about the 1847 building that houses her used bookstore and numerous cats, life in a university town, and how this bookshop got its name.
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Hammonds Books
We are joined by Jovanka Hammond who owns Hammonds Books & Antiques in St Louis, Missouri. Jovanka's journey into bookselling began in 1979 with Art Deco collectibles. Today, her store features books, jewelry, antiques and prints. We learn about Jovanka's dogs and a parrot with a taste for...
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Tavistock Books
We speak to bookseller Vic Zoschak, who runs Tavistock Books in Alameda, California, and has sold on AbeBooks for 25 years. Vic explains how he took up bookselling after many years of rescuing people. He discusses his interest in Charles Dickens and the most memorable Dickens object that he ever...
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The Story Shop
To continue our 25th anniversary celebrations, we speak to Jenny and Patrick Kalahar, who runs The Story Shop bookselling account on AbeBooks. Jenny and Patrick previously owned bookshops in Michigan and Ohio, while Jenny, an author, has published 14 books. Listen to their adventures in books…
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Committed by Adam Stern
We interview Dr Adam Stern about his just-published book, Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training, which describes his four-year residency in Harvard's Medical Program. Adam offers an insight into the psychiatry profession, from the unpredictable experience of treating patients for...
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Tom Lecky of Riverrun Books
To continue our 25th anniversary celebrations, we speak to Tom Lecky from Riverrun Books & Manuscripts in Ardsley, New York. Riverrun Books has sold with AbeBooks since 1996 with Tom buying the business in 2016. Previously, Tom was head of the printed books & manuscripts department at Christie’s…
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Ray Boas Bookseller
To kick off our 25th anniversary celebrations, we interview bookseller Ray Boas from Walpole, New Hampshire, who has sold with AbeBooks since 1996 - our first year in business. We learn about Ray's adventures in bookselling from the early days of the internet to opening his own bookshop after...
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Small Library Company
We are joined by Meg Dillon, a former BBC librarian, who explains about her new adventure in books. Meg runs the Small Library Company where she buys, sells and organizes books for small private collections. We also learn about Meg's first impressions of life in the rare bookselling business.
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Appalachian Trail A Biography
We are pulling on our hiking boots and stepping out on to the Appalachian Trail with author Philip D’anieri. Philip has written a book called The Appalachian Trail: A Biography which looks at the people behind the conception and construction of the trail over a period of 150 years. We discuss…
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The Madman's Library
Books written in blood, poisonous books, and edible books are just three of the topics covered in this episode. We are joined by Edward Brooke-Hitching, the author of The Madman's Library: The Strangest Books, Manuscripts and other Literary Curiosities from History, who also explains about a book...
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Heyday of Grammar
We speak to grammarian Bryan Garner about rare grammar books. One hundred books from Bryan’s collection of 1,900 books about grammar and 4,000 dictionaries are currently on display at the Grolier Club in New York. We learn how a teenage crush sparked Bryan’s love of grammar, how Noah Webster was...
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Book Historia
Allie Alvis is our guest as we explore book history. Allie creates easy-to-understand bite-size YouTube videos to explain rare book terminology. We discuss her love of rare books, including how Led Zeppelin and Monty Python can help us understand book collecting terms.
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Women of Pan Am
We interview Julia Cooke, who has written a book called Come Fly the World: The Jet Age Story of the Women of Pan Am. Julia’s book looks at the young women who became stewardesses with Pan Am in the 1960s and 1970s. She tells the stories of several American women who were the right height, right...
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Rare Islamic Books
In this episode, we learn about rare Islamic books in the company of Roxana Kashani, who was recently hired to lead a new Islamic department at Shapero Rare Books in London. From the importance of the Quran to an early pioneer of fiction, we take a journey through the rare books of the Islamic world
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Books of Hours Explained
They were the bestsellers of the Middle Ages. In this episode, we speak to Sandra Hindman, who runs Les Enluminures, a business dedicated to selling manuscripts and miniatures from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Sandra explains what books of hours contained, who owned them, how they were...
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New Zealand's Book Van
Annie Buscemi and Natasya Zambri are booksellers who have gone mobile. Located in Queenstown, New Zealand, they have a bookstore on wheels - a Nissan van filled with books for sale. Listen to our interview as we hear about their adventures in mobile bookselling.
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Bookishness
What's the definition of bookishness? We are joined by Jessica Pressman who is the associate professor of English and comparative literature at San Diego State University. Jessica is the author of Bookishness, Loving Books in a Digital Age. She explains how bookishness is represented in 21st...
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100 Books Challenge
Several years ago, AbeBooks created a reading list called 100 (Fiction) Books to Read in a Lifetime. We are joined by Monica MacMillan, who is attempting to read every book on the list, which ranges from famous classics like Moby Dick and Fahrenheit 451 to contemporary fiction such as The Road…
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The Mystery of Mrs Christie
We investigate one of the great literary mysteries – the 11-day disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926 - with Marie Benedict, the author of The Mystery of Mrs Christie. Marie used a fictional narrative to imagine the disappearance and the events leading up to it. A real-life mystery about the...
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Scoff
We are joined by Pen Vogler who is the author of Scoff: A History of Food and Class in Britain. The book investigates British food traditions from humble fish and chips to posh dinner parties. We discuss tea, comfort food, curries, Cornish pasties, pork pies, avocado, and oranges in Christmas...
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Takaya Lone Wolf
We are joined by Cheryl Alexander, a conservation photographer based in Victoria, British Columbia. Her book, Takaya Lone Wolf describes the remarkable life of a wolf that lived for 7 years on a group of small islands just off the coast of Victoria, a city of 300,000 people. We learn how Cheryl...
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The Sifter
We meet the team from The Sifter, an international, collaborative database of cookbooks designed to help people answer their food-related questions. Containing details of 8,000 authors and more than 7,000 works, The Sifter is a remarkable research tool detailing cookbooks and their contents down…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast from AbeBooks. This series is dedicated to telling the stories behind books and the people who love them. We'll salute classic novels and famous authors, investigate long-forgotten books, and discuss publishing houses, libraries, bookshops, and anyone else with a bookish story to tell.
HOSTED BY
AbeBooks
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Behind the Bookshelves have?
Behind the Bookshelves currently has 158 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Behind the Bookshelves about?
A podcast from AbeBooks. This series is dedicated to telling the stories behind books and the people who love them. We'll salute classic novels and famous authors, investigate long-forgotten books, and discuss publishing houses, libraries, bookshops, and anyone else with a bookish story to tell.
How often does Behind the Bookshelves release new episodes?
Behind the Bookshelves publishes regularly with 158 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Behind the Bookshelves?
You can listen to Behind the Bookshelves on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Behind the Bookshelves?
Behind the Bookshelves is created and hosted by AbeBooks.
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