Broad Conversation

Any bookshop is going to be judged, in part, by the quality of the booksellers that work there. We like to think that we have some of the best in the business. Here we will give a short portrait of some of them – if you see them when you visit the shop do say Hi!

Name:
Luke Rickett

Years Bookselling:
For Blackwell’s 3 years, in general 15 years on and off

Other book companies that you have worked for:
Russell Acott, Modern Music, Dawson’s ( Printed music and Music books)

Current Role: Sales Manager, Blackwell’s Music Shop
If you could have a ‘bookselling moniker’ what would it be?
‘Get it done now’ or just ‘The boss’ seem to be favourite among my staff at the moment.

What are you currently reading?
George R R Martin – A Storm of Swords, Steel and Snow, I’m a total Sci-fi & Fantasy geek

The book that you have always meant to have read but never got round to?
Tolstoy War and Peace

Most overrated book of all time?
Anything by Jane Austen, sorry but after studying Austin as part of A Level English lit I was really put off!
Still passed though thanks to Thomas Hardy…

Do you have a favourite customer?
I don’t have a favourite customer, I have a favourite type of customer…
If you could have written one book..?
The Hobbit- J R R Tolkien, first read it when I was 10 years old and loved it ever since. I think people forget it’s actually a children’s book. I read at least one of Tolkien’ books every year.

You are having an authors dinner party (living or dead) – who do you invite?
J R R Tolkien, George Orwell, Philip K Dick, Frank Herbert, Anne Rice, Richard Matheson, H P Lovecraft and Bram Stoker just to make the numbers even, no body likes sitting on their own at a dinner party.

You can tell the world something and every single person in the world will hear it. What do you say?
‘Be excellent to one another’ Ted Theodore Logan- Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

Name:
Sebastian Peel

Years Bookselling:
5 months

Other book companies that you have worked for:
The Charity Shop; Meanwood, Leeds

Current role:
Politics and Regional Studies Weekend Bookseller

What are you currently reading?
The Enigma of Capital by David Harvey. A book that explains that critiques the theory behind capitalism in terms that are easy to understand. He suggests that periodic ‘crashes’ are an inherent part of capitalism, which is particularly interesting following the recent financial crisis.

The book you’ve always meant to have read but never got round to?
Lots to choose from… I will say War and Peace, but One Day is also near the top of my list.

Most overrated book of all time?
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins; he should stick to biology, not religion.

Do you have a favourite customer?
There are too many to choose from!

If you could have written one book…?
Probably The Lord of the Rings, just because it is such a great book.

You are having an authors dinner party (living or dead) – who do you invite?
J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Noam Chomsky, Eric Hobsbawm (a mixture of fiction and non-fiction, with some strong viewpoints)

You can tell the world something and every single person in the world will hear it. What do you say?
Do what you love, don’t worry, and don’t believe everything people tell you without asking questions.

Name:
Becky Riddell

Years Bookselling:
2 years, 4 months and 8 days

Other book companies that you have worked for:
Stanfords (2nd favourite bookshop) and Oxfam Highgate Bookshop

Current Role:
General Books Department – basic bookseller (Take it from me that Becky is, in no way, a basic bookseller – ed)

If you could have a ‘bookselling moniker’ what would it be?
I don’t believe in titles

What are you currently reading?
‘The Secret Scripture’ by Sebastian Barry

The book that you have always meant to have read but never got round to?
The Bible

Most overrated book of all time?
‘One Day’ by David Nicholls

Do you have a favourite customer?
I have lots! If I really have to choose my absolute favourite then it would be Ian Wright. He has amazing animal-headed walking sticks and colourful ties, but the best thing about him is his smiling personality and the way he always doffs his hat when he sees me

If you could have written one book..?
It would have to be ‘The Sea, The Sea’ by Iris Murdoch

You are having an authors dinner party (living or dead) – who do you invite?
Iris Murdoch, Virginia Wolf, Kahlil Gibrain, Eric Blair, Vikram Seth, Judi Dench, Ben Okri, Doris Lessing, Bertrand Russell I could go on and on…

You can tell the world something and every single person in the world will hear it. What do you say?
Do what you can, where you are, with what you’ve got

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Name:
Euan Hirst

Years Bookselling:
25 – I started in the Science and Technical department of Broad Street in 1987. I have worked in a huge variety of roles for Blackwell’s across the country and have left the company a few times. But like the proverbial bad penny…

Other book companies that you have worked for:
OUP – I was the Marketing Manager for their Social Science list. It taught me that I am a bookseller to my core, not a publisher

Current role:
The grandly titled Academic Manager. Ostensibly I run the shop floor – my dream job. I am also Blogger and Twitterer-in-chief for the shop

If you could have a ‘bookselling moniker’ what would it be?
I have been called many things in the shop! My favourite is ‘Lord of the Books’

What are you currently reading?
Kevin Barry ‘Dark Lies the Island’ - To me he is promising to be the Tom Waits of literature, and that is an amazing thing

The book that you have always meant to have read but have never got round to?
One of the downsides of working in a bookshop is that the books that you have not read seem to have souls that follow you around the room whispering ‘Why have you not read me? I have tried to read ‘Gravity’s Rainbow’ by Thomas Pynchon on a number of occasions but have been unable to finish it. I can see a great book in there but I always seem to disengage from it

Most overrated book of all time?
Oh No! I am going to get into soooo much trouble for this. ‘Pride and Prejudice’. I’m not saying it is bad, just that it is overrated. Give me George Eliot every time

Do you have a favourite customer?
Honestly, too many to mention. It is the quality of the customers that allows us to do what we do. I think that the relationship between great bookshops and their customers is stronger and more intimate than any other kind of retail – we think of you as fans rather than ‘just’ customers

If you could have written one book…?
‘Herzog’ by Saul Bellow – a book that every man should read after his 40th birthday, let’s face it I’d be pretty ecstatic to write any book (with one or two notable exceptions)

You’re having a dinner party for authors (living or dead) – who do you invite?
I’m going to have a boy’s night in with George Orwell, Samuel Beckett, Geofrey Chaucer and Oscar Wilde. There will be wine, cigarettes and lots of meat

You can tell the world something and every single person in the world will hear it. What do you say?
“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” Bertrand Russell

Any Other Business?
Literally? No I would not wish, nor I suspect be able, to work in any other industry.

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Name:
Heather Stallard

Years Bookselling:
0.1 at time of writing – been here since early March!

Other book companies that you have worked for:
none

Current role:
Bookseller in the much loved Norrington Room

If you could have a ‘bookselling moniker’ what would it be?
I suppose “Heather the Ace Bookseller” isn’t creative enough? (we need to do some work on that, Heather – ed)

What are you currently reading?
‘Black Heart‘ by Holly Black; the third in a trilogy of young adult urban fantasy / adult scifi/fantasy novels about an alternate contemporary America in which magic (so named ‘cursework’) was outlawed in the prohibition era creating infamous gangster families

The book you’ve always meant to have read but never got round to?
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Or perhaps the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. There are just so many…

Most overrated book of all time?
I didn’t much like Moby Dick, but I think that might have been down to a lack of patience more than anything else

Do you have a favourite customer?
Not yet, but I look forward to picking one

If you could have written one book..?
Just for sheer amusement of impact, “Ulysses” by James Joyce. Must have been fun watching all the literature academics work so hard

You are having an authors dinner party (living or dead) – who do you invite?
Cassandra Clare, Holly Black and Sarah Rees Brennan – the ultimate trio of contemporary young adult urban fantasy writers!

You can tell the world something and every single person in the world will hear it. What do you say?
I’d like to say something pretentious here, perhaps quote some Oscar Wilde, but it occurs to me that so many people in the world don’t have access to literature and don’t even consider that a priority in their daily struggles; so I guess I would say we should remember to be grateful for what we have. A smile a day keeps the doctor away?!?

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Name:
Kate Stilborn

Years Bookselling:
19… or is it 20?

Other book companies that you have worked for:
only Blackwell’s…only ever Blackwell’s

Current role:
Regional Manager Oxford / Head of Operations – call me what you like

If you could have a ‘bookselling moniker’ what would it be?
Great Expectations

What are you currently reading?
I am reading aloud the complete works of the magnificent Michael Morpurgo to my children (that’s a lot of books – ed)

The book that you have always meant to have read but have never got round to?
Nineteen Eighty Four

Most overrated book of all time?
Harry Potter (I love Harry Potter but there are far better books out there that can encourage a love of reading in young people)

Do you have a favourite customer?
My daughter. She always spends (my) money and is very demanding and honest about what we need to do to improve her experience in the shop.

If you could have written one book…?
Emma – Jane Austen

You’re having a dinner party for authors (living or dead) – who do you invite?
George Elliot, Ted Hughes, Michael Morpurgo, Walt Whitman, Charlotte Bronte

You can tell the world something and every single person in the world will hear it. What do you say?
Eat your greens

Any Other Business?
“The book salesman should be honored because he brings to our attention, as a rule, the very books we need most and neglect most.” Confucius

Hope you have enjoyed the first installment of ‘Meet our Booksellers’ Do leave us a reply if there are any burning questions that you would like to see added in the future…