Brattlecast: A Firsthand Look at Secondhand Books

At one of America's oldest bookshops, there are just as many stories to be told outside the pages as in them. Join Brattle Book Shop proprietor Kenneth Gloss and co-host Jordan Rich as they share insightful and entertaining conversations and histories surrounding Boston's favorite spot for bibliophiles. Topics range from military autobiographies to regional cookbooks and everything in between. Updates every two weeks.

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Episodes 100

Brattlecast #241 - A Typical Week
12d ago · 20:11
Ken’s a busy guy—we’re lucky he can even make time for this podcast. In today’s episode, he’ll break down one of his typically action-packed weeks, from early morning chores and laborious book buys to photo shoots at the shop and high-end appraisals. We say at the Brattle that Ken only works half-days: from 5 a.m. until 5 p.m. Make some room in your schedule to learn more about the demands and rewards of bookshop proprietorship on this occupying new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #240 - Ebony Magazine
26d ago · 12:26
Today we’re flipping through some fresh arrivals to the shop: issues of Ebony magazine from the 1970s. In print from 1945 to 2019 (and still published online), Ebony documented mid-century Black life in the United States with the same upbeat and aspirational tone that mainstream magazines once reserved for white America. From glossy fashion spreads and celebrity profiles to coverage of politics, civil rights, and everyday life, Ebony built a vivid visual record of a rapidly changing country. Today, Ebony offers a rich and fascinating archive of the African American experience, along with a qui
Brattlecast #239 - Communication Changes
1mo ago · 18:37
The Brattle has been in Ken’s family since 1949—before GPS, electronic mail, or even the podcast. In today’s episode, we discuss how modern tools have changed our daily routines at the shop, from appraising collections and setting up appointments to navigating the roads of New England. One piece of communication technology that hasn’t changed? The books themselves. They still deliver information and delight readers just as well as they did fifty, one hundred, or two hundred years ago. Join us for a look at the past and present of the bookselling on this timeless new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #238 - Ken's Lecture Circuit
1mo ago · 16:40
Astute Brattlecast listeners may have already noticed this, but Ken really loves to tell a good story. Did you know you can see him speak in person as well? Today’s episode is about Ken’s lectures: informative, entertaining presentations drawn from his decades in the book business and delivered at venues throughout New England. These talks are always followed by a Q&A with the audience and a look at any books attendees have brought in for appraisal. Visit brattlebookshop.com to see when Ken might appear at a library, museum, or historical society near you—or to book him for your own event.
Brattlecast #237 - Weddings and More
2mo ago · 16:02
Our shop has seen many love stories over the years—some fiction, others nonfiction. In today’s episode, we reminisce about the handful of presumably still-happy couples who’ve gotten married or engaged at the Brattle. It may be an unconventional venue, but people love books, and we love love. It’s an honor to serve as the setting for such special memories—plus, a small wedding ceremony makes shoppers look up from the sale lot shelves for a moment and breaks up the day for our staff. If you got married, met someone significant, exchanged a meaningful glance with a stranger that still troubles y
Brattlecast #236 - Books Outside
2mo ago · 17:40
This week we’re taking a look at one of the shop’s most distinctive features: our outdoor sale lot. Open year-round in extreme New England weather, the lot presents some unique operational challenges for the Brattle crew (not many booksellers have to worry about their customers getting frostbite, or about sudden summer thunderstorms decimating their sale sections). It’s a fun, photogenic space that generates a lot of publicity—we’ve hosted weddings, served as a movie location, and appeared in countless social media posts—but the lot also acts as a practical pressure valve for overstuffed shelv
Brattlecast #235 - Book Buys A-Z
3mo ago · 19:25
As a secondhand book shop, the thing that really drives our business isn’t selling books—it’s buying them. That’s why we venture out almost every day—to houses, libraries, and storage units throughout New England—searching for good books and the occasional treasure. In today’s episode, we’re taking a behind-the-scenes look at our book buying process, from receiving phone calls and making appointments through appraisals, offers, and, if things go well, packing up the truck. These trips keep fresh books flowing into the shop, but they’re also a little adventure: we get to see new places, meet ne
Brattlecast #234 - A Long Wait
3mo ago · 13:35
This week we’re talking about one of the shop’s longest book buys—a deal that took over thirty years to seal. In the late ‘70s Ken was called out to a local library, where he made a bid on some really excellent books. They said that the board of trustees would have to think about it. Decades passed, babies grew up, pant silhouettes changed, and the library called to check in every five or ten years. Ken would find the collection—Gutenberg Bible pages, illuminated manuscripts, Audubon folios, etc.—stored in a slightly worse location almost every time he visited. Ultimately, in the 2010s, when t
Brattlecast #233 - Maps and Time
4mo ago · 12:33
Before the implementation of standardized time zones in the United States, every town pretty much decided what time it was on their own. This wasn’t that big of a deal when you had to walk everywhere, but it created some major problems as communication and transportation got faster in the 19th century: imagine creating an accurate train schedule when the time of day is slightly different at every stop. In today’s episode, we’re taking a look at some old transportation maps—from coach lines to railroads to air travel—and reflecting on the ways our conception of time has evolved alongside these
Brattlecast #232 - Almanacs
4mo ago · 11:30
The Farmers’ Almanac will publish its last edition this year, ending a run that began in 1818. So how will we know when to plant our crops going forward? Don’t worry: there’s still the Old Farmers’ Almanac, which is now functionally the Only Farmers’ Almanac. Today we’re talking about the once-crowded landscape of American almanac publishing and flipping through a few examples from the late seventeen and early eighteen hundreds. In addition to covering agriculture, there were popular almanacs on medicine, navigation, abolition, and Christianity—and even satirical almanacs that parodied the gen
Brattlecast #231 - Brattle Snow Days
5mo ago · 12:49
It’s been an exceptionally rough winter, so we thought we’d talk about what a big snow day looks like at the Brattle. Picture downtown Boston, quiet streets blanketed with feet of newly fallen snow. Almost everyone is staying home today—except for plow drivers and the Brattle staff. Are we having a cozy time in there? Not really. This is where selling books outdoors becomes a feat of endurance: we’re shoveling the sale lot clean, we’re shoveling the roof, we’re climbing onto a higher part of the roof and shoveling that, we’re running through cases of Hot Hands packets just to stave off frostbi
Brattlecast #230 - A Presidential Collection
5mo ago · 11:14
Today we’re talking about a particularly exciting appraisal: a volume of presidential autographs containing original documents signed by every American president from George Washington through Richard Nixon, with accompanying portraits. How do you even put a price on an item like this? Slowly and carefully. Complete collections of presidential signatures have been compiled before, so our evaluation largely comes down to the documents themselves: their condition, whether they were written while the president was in office, and how interesting or historically significant their content may be. Jo
Brattlecast #229 - Special Interests
5mo ago · 11:44
At the shop we encounter a wide range of book collectors—people with specialized and sometimes eccentric fields of interest, from esoteric wellness trends to pre-revolutionary Cuba. But how do these passions develop in the first place? In this episode, Ken draws on his own developing interest in Kenyan history to describe a self-reinforcing cycle: curiosity is sparked, reading follows, knowledge deepens, material accumulates, a collection takes shape—and, before you know it, you’re an East Africa guy. Join us for a look at how collectors are made, on this inquisitive and acquisitive new #bratt
Brattlecast #228 - Real Photo Postcards
6mo ago · 12:58
This week we’re talking about real photo postcards. In 1903, Kodak released a camera that allowed people to print postcards from photographs they took themselves. Portable, easy to use, and relatively inexpensive, the postcard camera democratized—and deformalized—visual communication in many of the same ways that social media would 100 years later. Unlike mass-produced postcards, which tend to show standardized views of major landmarks, these small-batch souvenirs offer a personal, idiosyncratic look at what ordinary people cared about: vernacular architecture, college sports teams, candid fam
Brattlecast #227 - A Typical Brattle Week
6mo ago · 17:15
In this episode, we round out our day-in-the-life series by talking you through an average work week at the shop. This particular week’s treasure hunt took us on a tour of New England, from Concord and Cambridge to Maine and the Berkshires, and even into the chambers of a former federal judge. But it’s not really about the destination or the journey—it’s about the books we bought along the way: a haul including collections on art, history, architecture, woodworking, and much more, plus some decorative leatherbound volumes. Of course, the magic of the Brattle is that there’s no such thing as a
Brattlecast #226 - Storage Units
7mo ago · 13:13
In this episode, we continue our day-in-the-life series with the story of another relatively normal but less-than-perfect book buy. It’s a stumbling block that we run into fairly often: folks trying to sell books that they’re not emotionally prepared to part with. In this case we looked at the collection, made an offer, and waited about five years until its owner was ready to let go. In a classic case of indecision being worse than wrong decision, the books waited in a storage unit for all those years, absorbing rent money and developing unfortunate condition issues. Listen to learn more about
Brattlecast #225 - The New Hampshire Trip
7mo ago · 17:14
At the recent Boston Book Fair we were delighted to meet with some brattlecast listeners, who told us they’d like to hear more about day-to-day life at the shop. It’s a great idea, so today we’re kicking off a short series on our average workdays—not the spectacular finds or the times when the building catches fire, but the stories in between. We’ll start with an account of a pretty normal book buy that didn’t work out quite the way we would have hoped. It’s something that comes up more and more in the internet age: people with collections to sell will do their own research, see copies of thei
Brattlecast #224 - The Kenyan Library
8mo ago · 13:54
Today we’re talking about Ken’s recent visit to the McMillan Memorial Library in Nairobi, Kenya. The McMillan’s ongoing restoration is the subject of a recent documentary, How to Build a Library, which explores the space’s troubled colonial past and its rebirth as a vibrant, inclusive cultural hub following years of neglect. This inspiring transformation is led by writer Wanjiru Koinange and publisher Angela Wachuka—two Nairobi women with a passion for literature and a mission to empower underserved communities through art, storytelling, and equitable access to information. You can learn more
Brattlecast #223 - So You Want to Own a Book Store
8mo ago · 16:28
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
Brattlecast #222 - The Gift of Books
9mo ago · 13:30
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 li
Brattlecast #221 - The Toughest to Shed
9mo ago · 15:26
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
Brattlecast #220 - Books About Computers
9mo ago · 12:40
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 pr
Brattlecast #219 - Car Catalogs
10mo ago · 16:53
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
Brattlecast #218 - Robert Frost Inscriptions
10mo ago · 10:32
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 l
Brattlecast #217 - CBS Saturday Morning
11mo ago · 16:51
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: https://youtu.be/IHyEN1wj0M8?si=Ps1xPey_AzAK-GH5

Episodes

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More Arts shows

Brattlecast: A Firsthand Look at Secondhand Books

Episodes 100

Brattlecast #241 - A Typical Week

Brattlecast #240 - Ebony Magazine

Brattlecast #239 - Communication Changes

Brattlecast #238 - Ken's Lecture Circuit

Brattlecast #237 - Weddings and More

Brattlecast #236 - Books Outside

Brattlecast #235 - Book Buys A-Z

Brattlecast #234 - A Long Wait

Brattlecast #233 - Maps and Time

Brattlecast #232 - Almanacs

Brattlecast #231 - Brattle Snow Days

Brattlecast #230 - A Presidential Collection

Brattlecast #229 - Special Interests

Brattlecast #228 - Real Photo Postcards

Brattlecast #227 - A Typical Brattle Week

Brattlecast #226 - Storage Units

Brattlecast #225 - The New Hampshire Trip

Brattlecast #224 - The Kenyan Library

Brattlecast #223 - So You Want to Own a Book Store

Brattlecast #222 - The Gift of Books

Brattlecast #221 - The Toughest to Shed

Brattlecast #220 - Books About Computers

Brattlecast #219 - Car Catalogs

Brattlecast #218 - Robert Frost Inscriptions

Brattlecast #217 - CBS Saturday Morning

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Episodes 100

Brattlecast #241 - A Typical Week

Brattlecast #240 - Ebony Magazine

Brattlecast #239 - Communication Changes

Brattlecast #238 - Ken's Lecture Circuit

Brattlecast #237 - Weddings and More

Brattlecast #236 - Books Outside

Brattlecast #235 - Book Buys A-Z

Brattlecast #234 - A Long Wait

Brattlecast #233 - Maps and Time

Brattlecast #232 - Almanacs

Brattlecast #231 - Brattle Snow Days

Brattlecast #230 - A Presidential Collection

Brattlecast #229 - Special Interests

Brattlecast #228 - Real Photo Postcards

Brattlecast #227 - A Typical Brattle Week

Brattlecast #226 - Storage Units

Brattlecast #225 - The New Hampshire Trip

Brattlecast #224 - The Kenyan Library

Brattlecast #223 - So You Want to Own a Book Store

Brattlecast #222 - The Gift of Books

Brattlecast #221 - The Toughest to Shed

Brattlecast #220 - Books About Computers

Brattlecast #219 - Car Catalogs

Brattlecast #218 - Robert Frost Inscriptions

Brattlecast #217 - CBS Saturday Morning