Mellowwayne's Library

Interview with Wayne Surber of Mellowwayne's Library

When did you get started in bookselling?

I've traded books on and off over the years on many sites. But just recently decided I could pare down my shelves to replenish with books I haven't read. No need to hold onto ones I've read.

What drew you to bookselling?

Well, I love to read and love to share good books. Now, with the economic collapse, I kinda of have to find many ways to bring in income. Hopefully this will offset some of those expenses or at least clear up shelves for new books I want to read.

Did you have any mentors in becoming a bookseller?

I love Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn and I interviewed them back when I was planning to open a local restaurant, so I would say that they are one of my mentors.

What are your specialties as a dealer?

I have a fairly large cookbook collection, small amount of collectibles, and a diverse non-fiction and fiction collection.

What's the most amazing book you've ever sold?

I haven't sold any of them yet. I have a nice copy of the Three Volume History of the Russian Revolution by Leon Trotsky that I'm almost ready to sell. I also have many books that I took after my grandfather passed away. He traded books for plumbing work he did when his customers were short on money. I have a few lovely copies of Edgar Allen Poe and Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall. But I'm holding onto them for now.

What is your favorite part of being a bookseller?

Just sharing in the wonders of other creatives.

Do you have an open storefront or have you in the past?

No

If so, do/did you have any bookstore pets?

I would if I did.

What is your favorite bookshop (other than your own)?

Greenlight Bookstore

What do you personally like to read? Collect?

James Baldwin,David Bohm, Neal Stephenson, McSweeney's Publishing Books, Other Short Story Journals and Magazines.

What's your favorite book you personally own? Would you sell it, if the price were right?

That's a toss-up really. Again, many of my granfather's old books were passed to me. I love the three Edgar Allen Poe Books I have from him. I have two Funk & Wagnalls Company Cameo Edition, from the Ten Volumes that they produced in 1904, one has a fantastic illustration (engraving from The Pit & The Pendulum) and then I also have a Paperbound Maynard's Classic Series from 1889 of The Raven and Other Poems. They're all in good reading condition and I've read them over and over through the years. I also enjoy an American Book Company Selected Plays of Shakespeare from 1936 that my grandfather carried in the Navy and also a separate Arden Shakespeare, from D.C. Heath & Co. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar , revised by William Strunk, Jr. and published in 1915 once held and read by my Great Uncle on my Dad's mother's side. These are all family books that I wish I knew more about how they impacted the lives of my relatives, but I do not and can only gleen what I can from them myself.

What one book would you buy if price were no object?

A Pristine Copy of a First Edition of James Baldwin's Another Country. I'd also love to have a Pristine copy of Cormac McCarthy's Suttree. All very different I know. I love the stories that have come out of our country. I think everyone does. I love a lot of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th generation immigration fiction as well.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring three books, what would they be?

Another Country, by James Baldwin; Travels with Charlie, John Steinbeck; Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman