Bookstore Explorer
Join author and bookseller Matt Browning as he goes behind the shelves with booksellers, authors and other bookish folks to learn what makes independent bookshops such magical places.
Episodes
Are you a fan of audiobooks but would prefer to support your favorite indie bookstore when downloading? Libro.fm makes that happen. This week, I'm joined by Lee Hooyboer, Senior Manager of Bookseller Partnerships at Libro.fm, who shares all the details on this fantastic platform.
Books We Talk About: The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch, Redwall by Brian Jacques, and How to Defend Books and Why by Danny Caine
This week, we head to Berkeley, California, to visit Book Society. Co-owner Laura Guzman discusses this fantastic bookstore and wine bar.
Books We Talk About: We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida, The League of Lady Poisoners by Lisa Perrin, Places We Swim California by Caroline Clements, My Friends by Fredrik Backman, and many others!
This week, I’m joined in person by Julie Schultz of This House of Books in Billings, Montana! Recoded live in the shop, Julie walks us through the history of this fantastic co-op-structured store, which is shared by approximately 700 owners.
Books We Talk About: The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington, the Sean Stranahan mystery series by Keith McCafferty, and This House of Sky by Ivan Doig
This week on the pod, we head to Bloomington, Indiana, to hear the fascinating story of Morgenstern Books with co-owner Jenna Bowman and bookseller Grace Hamilton.
It's a very special episode of Bookstore Explorer as Matt welcomes some old friends to the show! This week, we visit with Stephen and Nicki Bentley Colthart, owners of Volume Bookshop & Studio in Buckhannon, West Virginia.
This week, we’re heading to Kilmarnock, Virginia, to talk with Lisa McLaughlin, the owner of The Bookshelf on Church.
Books We Talk About: Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss, The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram, Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line by Elle Cosimano, Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
On this episode, Matt is joined by Aimee Chipman of Bluestocking Bookshop in Holland, Michigan. Books We Talk About: The works of Jacqueline Carey, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, and The World Gives Way by Marissa Levien
In this episode, Sisters Sarah Krammen and Rachel Rattenborg take us on a tour of their family-owned bookshop, Dragonfly Books in Decorah, Iowa.
Books We Talk About: Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle, Bog Queen by Anna North, Hound Triptych by Dani Janae, Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, and the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Patrick Rothfuss
Today we head to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, to talk with Margaret Magle, owner of OtherWords Books & More. Books We Talk About: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, Amish Vampires in Space by Kerry Nietz, and 1984 by George Orwell
Today I'm joined by Rae Gosling, owner of Hidden Nook Booksellers in Grayling, Michigan. Books We Talk About: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, Redwall by Brian Jacques, Hogfather by Terry Pratchett, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Andy Corren, Dirtbag Queen by Andy Corren, and Zeal by Morgan Jerkins
Today I'm joined by Jesi Crawford, owner of the new shop Indie Darling Bookstore in Lander, Wyoming. Books We Talk About: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Martyr by Kaveh Akbar.
This week I'm joined by Kathleen Madden of Sassafras on Sutton in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Books We Talk About: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, The Last Castle by Denise Kiernan, and Man's Search for Meaning by Vicktor Fankl
On this episode, I'm joined by Kevin Coolidge, owner of From My Shelf Books & Gifts in Wellsboro, PA. With 20 years of experience in bookselling, Kevin shares everything from the changes in genre popularity he's seen over the years to the close bonds we form with our customers.
I love a mobile bookshop, and today I’m joined by Melanie LaBorwit, owner of Burque Books & Art in Alburquerque, NM!
Books We Talk About: Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafrón, Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
On this episode, we head to sunny California to learn about Ink Spell Books with owner Cindi Whittemore.
Books We Talk About: The books of Shawn Harris, Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen, The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, the works of Jane Austen, The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan
From shortbread to bookshop, owner Cori Theroux walks us through her journey of opening the Green Dragon Bookshop, as well as creating the Iowa Bookshop Tour.
Books We Talk About: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis, The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
On this episode, I’m joined by Meg O’Brien, owner of Good & Golden Books in Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Books We Talk About: Tomes & Tea Rebecca Thorne, Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
On this episode, I’m joined by Amy Ford and Lindsey Gartman, sisters who own Woven Words Bookshop, a book and craft shop in Akron, Ohio.
Books We Talk About: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, Carrie Soto is Back by Taylo...
On this episode, I’m joined by Brittany Haynes, owner of Book Bar in Palmyra, Pennsylvania. Books We Talk About: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Remnants of a Scarlet Flame by Cindy L. Sell
On this episode, we head to the Pacific Northwest to visit with Sascha and Gem Schaudies, owners of Bundok Books in Puyallup, Washington.
Books We Talk About: Gender Swapped Fairy Tales by Karrie Fransman and Jonathan Plackett, Saints of Storm and Sorrow Gabriella Buba, Battle of the Butts Jocelyn Rish, The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August, The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley,
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