Ep 6: Josh Christie, Sherman's Books & Stationery

Drunk Booksellers

In Episode 6, we chat with Josh Christie, manager at Sherman's Books and Stationery in Portland, ME. Get excited.

You also can stream the episode on iTunes and Stitcher. Find us on Tumblr at drunkbooksellers.tumblr.com. Follow us on Twitter at @drunkbookseller for updates, book recs, and general bookish shenanigans.

Epigraph

Bitches in Bookshops

Our theme music, Bitches in Bookshops, comes to us with permission from Annabelle Quezada. It’s the best.

Introduction [0:30]

In Which We Drink Strong Stouts and Cat Valente Singing in Russian for a Talent Show

Josh is the perfect guest for Drunk Booksellers. He is the manager and book buyer at Sherman's Books and Stationery in Portland, Maine (not Oregon). He’s also the co-author of Maine Outdoor Adventure Guide and The Handbook of Porters & Stouts, as well as the author of Maine Beer: Brewing in Vacationland. In his spare time, he’s an adjunct professor on the The Maine Brew Bus and a co-host of The Bookrageous Podcast.

Drink of the Day: As one might expect from a stout & porter expert, Josh gave us three options for our drink of the day.

• Lion Stout
• Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
• Anchor Porter

Josh is reading Drinking in America: Our Secret History by Susan Cheever, Judge This by Chip Kidd, and The Beer Bible by Jeff Alworth.

Kim’s reading Tuesday Nights in 1980 by Molly Prentiss (pubs April 2016) and Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor.

Emma’s reading Thunderstruck & Other Stories by Elizabeth McCracken, Nimona by Noelle Stevensen, Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente (also mentioned Six-Gun Snow White)

Books we’re excited about:

• The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff (also mentioned Cleopatra: A Life)
• The One-In-A-Million Boy by Monica Wood (pubs April 2016)
• Embed with Games: A Year on the Couch with Game Developers by Cara Ellison (pubs February 2016)
• Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five (Bookmarked Series) by Curtis Smith (pubs March 2016)
• Harry Potter Coloring Book from Scholastic, Inc.
• Contraband Cocktails: How America Drank When It Wasn't Supposed to by Paul Dickson (published by the ever-awesome Melville House)
• The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip by George Saunders & Lane Smith
• The Good Book: Writers Reflect on Favorite Bible Passages, edited by Andrew Blauner
• Gratitude by Oliver Sacks

Chapter I [20:17]

In Which We Love Everything Except Rap and Polka, Particularly Maps

Sherman’s Books & Stationery has 5 locations in Maine, with a 6th opening in 2016.

Most surprising bestseller (other than adult coloring books): The Historical Atlas of Maine, edited by Stephen J. Hornsby

Also mentioned: Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free by Hector Tobar, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

If maps and books are your thing, definitely check out Plotted: A Literary Atlas by Andrew Degraff and Daniel Harmon . We all love it so hard.

From Plotted: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Chapter II [32:23]

In Which We Lust after Built-in Bookshelves, Love Everything Except Rap & Polka

Josh loves some good narrative nonfiction: Mary Roach, Erik Larson, Stacy Schiff, John Muir, and Ralph Waldo Emerson

Kim and Emma get overexcited about handselling nature essays to Josh. Emma loves Limber by Angela Pelster. Kim’s excited about Annie Dillard’s forthcoming collection, The Abundance: Narrative Essays Old and New (pubs March 2016).

Josh recs the Best American series, particularly Best American Sports Writing

Go read anything published by Write Bloody. Especially Andrea Gibson (start with Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns).

Originally posted by x-rayvisions

Chapter III [41:06]

In Which We Love Maps and Weirdos, Learn that Maine is More Than Just Lighthouses & Lobsters,

Josh’s Wheelhouse includes books with maps, character indexes, and anything that’s super weird, such as Mort(e) by Robert Repino

Josh’s very practical Station Eleven/Wild book: SAS Survival Guide by John Lofty Wiseman

Josh’s real Station Eleven/Wild book: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Go-To Handsell: Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed, The Lobster Kings by Alexi Zentner

Originally posted by cuddle

Generally Impossible Handsells: Poetry and Graphic Novels

If you’re not a graphic novel reader yet, start with Fun Home by Alison Bechdel, The Sculptor by Scott McCloud, or Habibi by Craig Thompson

That annoying Slate article that Josh mentions can be found here: Don’t Support Your Local Bookseller. Feel free to read it if you feel like angrily ranting at everyone you interact with for the next few years.

Epilogue [51:27]

In Which Josh Tells Us About His Awesome Bookish Wedding and Where You Can Find Him On the Internet

Josh and his wife gifted each other literary tattoos as wedding presents, because they’re the coolest. Josh is getting the the Escapist’s key from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon and his wife is getting the the Brakebills seal from Lev Grossman’s The Magicians. Totes adorbs, right?

Favorite Bookstore other Than Your Own: WORD (aw, yeah!), Harvard Book Store, Porter Square Books, Northshire Bookstore

Favorite Literary Media: PANELS, Reading Aloud Podcast

If you’re not listening to Bookrageous, go remedy that immediately. We love it so hard.

Find Josh on the interwebz at:

• Twitter: @jchristie
• Website: BrewsAndBooks.com
• Instagram: JChristie7

You should probably follow us on Twitter @drunkbookseller if you’re not doing so already. We’re pretty cool.

Emma tweets @thebibliot and writes nerdy bookish things for Book Riot. Kim occasionally tweets at @finaleofseem.

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