To many people, owning a small book shop seems like a dream job—it’s right up there with the cute neighborhood restaurant and the cozy Vermont inn. Unfortunately, like these other idealized occupations, the reality is usually a lot of hard work and uncertain remuneration. We’re often asked for advice about opening a book store, which is somewhat ironic since Ken’s father started the Brattle with little business experience and no money, but, if you’re really interested, this is the episode for you. We’ll talk about the pros and cons of selling new versus used books, rare book schools where you can network and learn the tricks of the trade, and even some alternative career options for people who love books but who might not love working with the public. Get set for a new life of literary ambiance, eccentric customers, and twelve-hour days on this career-minded new #brattlecast.

With the holidays on the horizon, we thought it would be a good time to talk about gift giving. A rare or secondhand book can make a great gift—if it’s chosen thoughtfully (otherwise you run the risk of seeming like you’ve wrapped a random volume from your own shelves). Before you start shopping, it helps to get clear on what you’d like to give: think about your budget, the recipient’s interests, and what they might already have in their collection. It’s also good to start early; a little extra time can make all the difference when it comes to tracking down that perfect item—possibly with a little help from your neighborhood bookseller. Of course, every book is a gift, it’s just that some are gifts for a person you love, while others are better suited to give to an acquaintance (or an enemy). Learn how to brighten their spirits and shelves on this generous new #brattlecast.

It’s a common enough predicament that entire self-help books have been written about it: being emotionally terrorized by a piece of household clutter. The hardest items to part with aren’t usually the ones that we love the most, but those that elicit a sticky cocktail of guilt, sentimentality, and superstition: the photographs that feel painful to look at, the once-favorite garment that no longer fits your body or your lifestyle (but what if…!). 

In this episode, we’ll talk about the kinds of books that feel straight-up evil to sell, like gifts (especially from the author, with an incriminating personal inscription), things that were cherished by a departed friend or family member, and religious texts. We don’t have too many solutions for this. Even Ken, who gets rid of books for a living, has resorted to the classic strategy of “placing them in the basement and waiting for them to become someone else’s problem” when it comes to certain volumes. Join us for a look at persistent possessions and inadvertent collections on this week’s #brattlecast.

Want to feel old? People are collecting vintage books about computers. These futuristic-feeling technologies have become such an ubiquitous part of our daily lives that it can feel counterintuitive to step back and take a look at their history, but there’s a growing interest in computer science classics that date back to the 1940s and ‘50s. In this episode, we’ll talk about books like Faster Than Thought: A Symposium on Digital Computing Machines; Giant Brains, or Machines That Think; and The Age of Intelligent Machines, as well as some science fiction novels that turned out to be uncannily prescient about the internet age. Log on and join us in cyberspace for this organically intelligent new #brattlecast.

Today we’re taking a look at the golden age of the American automobile, via a collection of car catalogs from the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. Full of slick illustrations and arty photographs (it was a great time for advertising, too), these catalogs recall a period of post-war prosperity, space race-inspired modernist design, and lax to nonexistent safety regulations. We’ll discuss which iconic mid-century models we long to drive the most—and delve into the pressing question of why new cars are so big and bland looking these days. Turn up the radio, buckle your seatbelt (if you have one), and join us on a nostalgic joyride through consumer history in this fast and curious #brattlecast.

In this episode we’re talking about some recent finds that have a lot to tell us about the rare book business. We got a call about some early Robert Frost editions, which are nice but overall more people are selling items like this than buying them these days. The volumes are signed by the author, which is good but not especially rare: Frost was a generous, gregarious person, happy to sign copies of his books for friends, students, and fans. Along with the signatures he wrote out entire stanzas of poems that would be published in later collections, which is great: we have a winner!

Listen to learn more about the kinds of inscriptions that collectors value most, and, if there’s a podcast topic that you’d find valuable, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].

Today we’re taking a behind-the-scenes look at our recent appearance on CBS Saturday Morning. Host Dana Jabcobson toured the shop, interviewed Ken, and flipped through some of our favorite items—including one book that is truly priceless. We’ll talk about all the planning that goes into filming for a national TV show and answer some important questions (was Ken wearing makeup?) on this camera-ready new #brattlecast. 

You can watch the full segment here.

Can you slim down by eating ice cream every day? According to an optimistic 1946 book, probably! Today we’re talking about Ice Cream Diets, a too-good-to-be-true weight loss plan in which author Marion White argues that more ice cream is the key to health and wellness, possibly ice cream as part of every meal. We’ll discuss our favorite local places to find this superfood,  other fad diets that have popped up over the years, and the ways that various industries have sought to put their thumbs on the scale of American consumption habits through PR campaigns and sponsored studies on this tempting new #brattlecast.

This week, we’re talking about a new way of looking at old photos: looking beyond their primary subjects and bringing the background details into focus. Under close observation, almost every vintage postcard or photo album that comes into the shop inadvertently reveals a wealth of information about the texture of daily life at the time that it was taken. From the fashions and hairstyles of passersby to the style of cars and the prices in shop windows, these images act as a fascinating window into the past. We’ll also discuss the worrying lack of these valuable artifacts from the present and the more recent past—as more and more photographs remain online only and as AI introduces an element of doubt into everything we see—on this snappy new #brattlecast.

We try not to get too political on this podcast, but, with proposed PBS funding cuts in the news, we thought it would be a good time to talk about all the positive impacts public television has had on the shop itself and on the wider community. The Brattle has a long history with our local PBS member station, WGBH. Ken’s father was contributing items from the shop to their annual fundraising auction back in the ‘60s—and bending the rules slightly to auction them off himself on-air. Ken and his wife, Joyce, both appraise books and manuscripts for Antiques Roadshow; in addition to being great publicity for the shop, the show has raised interest in rare books and collecting more generally. 

We’ve benefitted so much from PBS over the years, but so has anyone who’s ever learned how to cook a new dish from Julia Child, let their toddler enjoy an enriching episode of Sesame Street, or gained a deeper appreciation of popular music from The Great American Songbook. You can find ways to support public broadcasting at protectmypublicmedia.org.