|
Juggling Knowledge, Curating Story,
Bridging Divides
| |
|
Booksellers are more than vendors. Our wares contain minds and souls. In August, Weller Book Works will commemorate 95 years of nourishing spirits in Salt Lake City. My memory begins in the late 1960s. I was awed by the bookstore my parents ran. For many years I believed the booksellers, writers, readers, and publishers with whom they associated were normal adults. Now I realize they were creative dreamers, free spirited visionaries, open to ideas, and independent in mind. Exceptional persons.
Family stories form the foundation of my understanding of our history before my time. We understand that my grandfather, Gustav Weller converted the small second-hand shop he operated on 1st South just east of Main Street, Salt Lake Furniture, Bedding, and Radio into a bookstore when he acquired an especially attractive collection of Mormon books in August 1929. He named it Zion’s Bookstore.
| |
|
Gus Weller sold books with the assistance of his teenage children for about 10 years. The business moved twice before he decided to move to Marion, Utah to farm in 1939. The older Weller children did not relocate to the farm, but remained in Salt Lake and operated the bookstore under their father’s directives. Sam, the third oldest child, (along with his brother) enjoyed the greater liberty their father’s distance permitted.
In 1943, Sam was drafted into World War II service. Between 1943 and 1946, Ruth, Rachel, and Eve Weller managed the bookstore. Sam was discharged from the military in 1946. He returned to Utah and with equivocal obedience, took over the bookstore which was in poor financial health following the Depression and the War. Zion's Bookstore was at 65 East 200 South. Sam Weller was very different from his father– his relationship to the Mormon Church was more casual. He did not care for censorship, so alongside LDS books, he sold, anti, critical, and schismatic Mormon titles. In later years, he chuckled telling stories about selling banned books by Henry Miller and D. H. Lawrence his military friends smuggled home in military duffle bags. By the end of the 1940s, the bookstore was profitable due to post-War economic improvements and especially Sam’s hard work and high energy style. Lila Weller worked at Deseret News when she met Sam in 1949. She began assisting with bookkeeping and later invented an inventory control system that we would continue using until we computerized in 1989. Sam and Lila married in 1953.
| |
|
Not long before my birth, Sam and Lila moved the bookstore to 254 South Main Street, the location living persons still recall. Sam Weller's Books operated there for half a century, 1961 to 2011. We survived a major fire, light rail construction, a tornado, and the digital homogenization of the book industry.
In 1994, Catherine Weller, my wife, left the University of Utah Library System to work in the bookstore and became our new book buyer. During the embattled 90's, we participated in anti-trust lawsuits against major publishers and chains who violated numerous laws in their scrambles for industry dominance.
My favorite part of our history is now, in Trolley Square where we have operated since 2012. We have progressed with the culture yet maintained what we believe to be the best of our traditions. We acquire the books you want new when possible, used when available, and by search or wait list when necessary. We display beautiful and rare books, for those who enjoy the special magic of turning a reader’s appreciation into fetish icon by acquiring an especially wonderful edition of an esteemed book. We staff our bookstore with friendly avid readers and pursue difficult books with diligence. We have made our bookstore a pleasant place to visit so you may enjoy the near metaphysical experience of standing amongst the spirits preserved in the books.
| |
|
Books contain ideas. Their breadth embraces diversity. We enjoy exposure to new ideas and helping worthy new ones find place in our culture. I have worked in this business since the 1970s and nothing makes me happier than being appreciated today, not for what we were, but for what we are, here and now.
In our anniversary month we will announce a short, generous sale on used and rare books. All month we’ll have a photo booth where we hope you’ll take a selfie with a favorite book for our social media— tag us, won't you? We will publish a small, unusual paper item to feature Rare Books, and we’ll devote our August Collectors' Book Salon to group storytelling. We could not have done this for 95 years without your support! Thank you for letting us and our books into your life. We enjoy the work we do and know the value of reading. The next great book will be published soon. We are ready to assist.
| |
RECEIVE 20% OFF WHEN YOU PURCHASE DURING JULY AND AUGUST | |
|
By Annalee Newitz
W. W. Norton
Hardcover $27.99
Best Wellers' Price $22.39
Reviewed by José Knighton
| |
|
In a nation where everything—even words (especially words)—has been weaponized from its inception, declaring yourself to be nonbinary is a warrior's act. And Annalee Newitz's words are as sharp as a samurai's katana.
Newitz's deep dive into the swampy history of weaponized narrative propaganda commences amid the Cold War with the surprising tale of legendary, pseudonymic, science fiction author, Cordwainer Smith. His real name was Paul Linebarger and under that name he wrote the seminal and secretive U.S. Army publication, Psychological Warfare, which became a template for future governmental PSYOPs.
But that publication was merely a modern codification of a previous pattern. Benjamin Franklin concocted a fake story for a fake newspaper slandering the English government and Indigenous Americans with a fake conspiracy. It was later "reprinted" in an actual British newspaper. This was an opening salvo in propaganda wars against England, and Indigenous peoples. One PSYOP generated the Revolutionary War. The other, with its propagandized concept of "Manifest Destiny" and its imaginary (and mobile) "Frontier," combined with the myth of the "Last Indian," became an epic PSYOP that facilitated an actual, continent-wide, Indigenous genocide.
During previous hot and cold wars propaganda demonized purported alien and alienated enemies. But, as Newitz declares,"When we use PSYOPs in cultural conflicts, we tear down the wall between what's appropriate in domestic disagreements among Americans and what's acceptable in combat against a foreign enemy."
And that's the rabbit hole to Hell we've all tumbled down during the current Internet War (my term not Newitz's) with its social media PSYOPs. Newitz performs a thorough, dissecting reveal of how gullible, authoritarian American sycophants (manipulated by Russian troll farms) have corrupted and threatened democracy and continue to pursue PSYOP assaults on women, Black, and LGBTQ citizens in a manner that echoes earlier PSYOPs against Indigenous peoples. In their final chapter Newitz attempts to shine a light of hope into the darkness at the end of this tunnel, but it's a faint, flickering light.
| |
As we move towards new software and maintain the temporary buying hiatus, we are catching up with some back-logged work. Even with the curtailed inflow, we have some great recent finds to share here. |
|
1st edition of J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst’s 2013 meta-literary conundrum S., unless it is titled, Ship of Theseus by V. M. Straka. What is it? A faux ex-library book with stamps, labels and soiling and extensive correspondence between presumed readers in multi-colored ink. Laid in are 22 pieces of bogus ephemera providing evidential support for the ruse. All is housed in a slipcase. Near fine condition but looks old. $175 | |
|
A very good 1st edition of Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls in an unclipped, first state dust jacket which is lightly rubbed and chipped. $650 | |
| |
|
A seriously silly and scarce book, Opera Sutra, by Dan Montez. Photographic examples of Opera poses such as the chopstick bite, the back shimmy, the kneeling cuddle and the burning saint. Our copy is signed! $75 | |
Mostly, we avoid books with missing backstrips, but some are so scarce, we forgive. Such is our copy of an unusual small folio pop-up promotion produced by The Mutual Broadcasting System, apparently for Gillette Safety Razor Company and themselves, circa 1939. From the Bottom Up is printed in brown, orange and yellow on heavy card pages containing sports poems with ample use of the word, Mutual. Four two-page spreads contain full-color Baseball, Boxing, Football and Horseracing pop-ups with pithy puns about shaving. Pop-ups are fully intact and functional. Cool, unusual, and rare. $850 | |
|
Duell, Sloan, and Pierce’s 1962 edition of A Child’s Garden of Verses, was illustrated by noted fashion photographer Toni Frissell. Her black and white images accompany these perennially popular poems by Robert Louis Stevenson. A glossy photographic quarto. Scarce. $150 | |
|
Amische Lieder (Amish Songs) by Joseph W. Yoder. A scarce 1942 volume from Huntington, Pennsylvania. Signed by Yoder, who also published this black cloth octavo. $200 | |
|
Book-lovers and collectors meet in the Rare Book department for the Collectors' Book Salon the last Friday of each month, January through October. We begin casually around 6:30 PM with socializing, light refreshments, and shared bibliolust. At 7:15, an invited bibliophile leads the Collectors' Chat about a topic of their particular knowledge and passion. Each Salon, Tony offers a special deal on rare books that is only for Salon guests. | |
|
I met Brent Gundlah in our Rare Book department, where he browsed frequently, widely and thoughtfully. After numerous purchases and discussions of books, I befriended Brent and learned that he is the minister in the United Church of Christ here in the Salt Lake Valley. He earned BA and MA degrees in English Literature and previously worked in finance for 25 years. He dreamed of being a literary scholar before coming to his senses.
Brent and Valerie, his wife, moved to Utah in 2021 during the throes of the pandemic. He had not visited this part of the country before moving here to assume the ministry. Doing what any nerdy, bookish person would do, he started reading about Utah and the region. Being an inveterate collector, he amassed a mountain of better than ordinary books about these topics. Over three years, Brent’s interest grew to an obsession with writings about the American West. He started with novels and then spread in myriad other directions. At the Salon on Friday, July 26th, Brent will show us some of his books and tell us about his literary rabbit hole journey.
| |
|
The August 30th Collectors Book Salon will be dedicated to our 95-year history. Instead of a designated bibliophile chat, we want stories, of course with the appreciated show-and-tells, when possible. Do you have an interesting story involving this bookstore? What is the oldest memory you have? Did you find an amazing treasure? Were you changed? If you have a good tale about our old but modern bookstore, please attend the August Salon and share it with us. We attend to the present and look to the future. On the 30th of August, we will reminisce.
| |
|
By Carrie Fisher
Simon & Schuster
Paperback $17.00
Review by Wade Brown
| |
|
“Forty-three years ago, George Lucas ruined my life. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.”
Carrie Fisher was truly one of a kind. The daughter of Hollywood Royalty (Movie Star Debbie Reynolds and Singer and TV star Eddie Fisher) her experience of life was always, shall we say, bizarre. When watching TV sitcoms in the 1950s and 60s, she thought what she was watching was real life, and her own experience was made up by someone. When asked later what it was like growing up as the child of two of the most popular entertainers of all time, her response was always “What do you think I have to compare it to?” Following in her mother’s footsteps and becoming an actress, Fisher’s life was catapulted into even more baffling strangeness when she starred in what became one of the biggest box office franchises of all time. Later in life she discovered a talent for writing and became one of the most coveted script doctors in Hollywood. And despite struggling with addiction nearly her entire life, what always kept her going was her sense of humor.
Wishful Drinking is Carrie Fisher’s book of her life. Not anything so grand as a memoir or autobiography, this slim fast-paced volume is simply an examination of one woman’s life from the inside out. Fisher’s skeptical view of her own celebrity makes this book a breezy, hilarious, touching experience for the reader. Fisher is basically saying “You think your life is weird? Check out mine! If I can make it, so can you.” But this is no self-help treatise. It’s simply a woman having a sense of humor about herself – for example, her favorite piece of Star Wars merchandise was Princess Leia Shampoo, because she could twist off her own head and pour haircare product out of her neck into her hand.
Wishful Drinking is the funniest book I’ve ever read. On my first reading, I had to stop and put it down more than once because I was laughing so hard I was afraid of injuring myself. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
Personal note: I was there in a theater audience when Star Wars premiered on May 25, 1977. I, like everyone else in the theater, fell instantly in love with Princess Leia and the woman who portrayed her. My love for her has continued all my life. When Carrie Fisher passed away on December 27, 2016, it was the first celebrity death I ever cried over. Without Carrie, the world isn’t as funny. But at least we have Wishful Drinking.
Carrie Fisher (1956-2016) ❤️
|
|
|
By A. C. Esguerra
Archaia
Hardcover $29.99
Review by Apollo Frenzel
| |
|
Pompous readers don’t really consider graphic novels, comics, or manga to be “real” books for a reason I can’t understand. If we consider books on Art to be “real” books then why do we discount graphic novels? They are a combination of art and prose, especially this one.
I first read Eighty Days for a book club over at Under the Umbrella and was blown away at the insane art style of Esguerra. With a combination of inks and watercolor, set in grayscale, this book isn’t one to breeze through. It definitely is something you have to spend time with, but it is so worth it.
Set in a 1940s-like time period during the golden age of aviation, we follow Jay, a commercial pilot making ends meet. He meets Fix Vulpes, a thief looking to catch a ride and tags along for a trip. He gets hired as a Radio Operator for the plane to keep him out of jail. Together, they see the AVO, originally an aviation guild, tip more and more into a fascist government. They try escaping but Jay gets caught, with Fix getting away. Heartbroken, Fix hatches a plan to get him out.
This book has a style and vibe similar to a Studio Ghibli film, although much darker. It has four chapters, each 80 pages. One of my favorite things regarding the plot is that, we don’t know who the antagonist is. We know it’s overall the AVO but, there isn’t a person shown to be the leader against our protagonist. There are characters introduced that are high up in the government but we never see the person behind it all.
Overall, this book had me awestruck. During my book club discussion, We had the pleasure of seeing the original panels and artwork for the book. The color image I have included is especially my favorite. I implore you to check out Esguerra’s art in this amazing book.
|
|
|
By Stephen King
Anchor
Paperback $18.00
Review by Wade Brown
| |
|
Night Shift, Stephen King’s first short story collection, originally published in 1978, packs every bit the punch it did back in the day. These stories, published in popular men’s magazines of the time before being collected here, are raw, rough, and fucked up.
King has been my favorite author since I read Carrie as a very impressionable young adult and was knocked out by it. Now, after countless bestsellers, decades of worldwide acclaim, myriad awards, and even (gasp!) grudging acceptance by the literary establishment that once scorned his work as pablum, King has expanded his horizons into many other areas of focus. But back when Night Shift was first published, Stephen King was known for one thing and one thing only: scaring the shit out of readers.
Even contemporary readers with only a passing familiarity with King’s work will recognize some of these stories— “Trucks” is the basis for the film Maximum Overdrive, “Children of the Corn” was the start of what has become an 11-movie series, “Jersusalem’s Lot” is a prequel to the novel Salem’s Lot, and “The Lawnmower Man” became the legendary cult film of the same name. Two stories, “Quitters, Inc.” and “The Ledge,” were adapted as part of the 1985 Drew Barrymore thriller Cat’s Eye. The reach and longevity of these iconic short works is demonstrated by the fact that as recently as 2023, a story from this collection was adapted into a film (The Boogeyman).
Night Shift also contains what is (for me) the second-grossest story Stephen King has ever written*. It took me repeated attempts to finish “The Mangler” and I haven’t been able to wash my clothes at a public laundromat since. A short-story collection offers the advantage of the reader being able to pop in and out of the book without having to keep track of a larger narrative. In these distracting times, that can certainly be fun and useful.
I recommend this book to any King fan who somehow hasn’t read it yet, anyone who wants to experience King for the first time, or any horror fan who just wants to messily feast on a down and dirty smorgasbord of the King of Horror at his most raw. As a writer myself, one of the many reasons I love King is a famous answer he once gave to a journalist’s frustratingly inane question. When asked “Why do you write about such dark and scary things?” he answered “Why do you assume I have a choice?” 😈 Long Live The King!
*The absolute grossest Stephen King story will be revealed in a future review. Watch this space!.
|
|
|
By C.L.R. James
Vintage
Paperback $19.00
Review by Dylan Parry
| |
|
Haiti is one of the world’s poorest nations, and at the time of writing, one of the most unstable due to political unrest and gangs that are more like paramilitaries. And the world looks on. Yet, the situation Haitians find themselves in today, is not new, but one that Haiti and her people were pushed into, going back to the nation’s very own war of independence from the French, who’s eventual motto: “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!” would be truly tested in the Caribbean.
C.L.R. James’ book, The Black Jacobins, is still the best and mostly widely recognized history on the only successful slave uprising, in modern history. It is as powerful and shocking now, as it was in 1938. We see the lives of the French plantation owner and worker, who’s incessant fear of their human chattel led them to do some of the most inhuman acts imaginable. We witness the hardships of the slave-turned-revolutionary, and their own forms of retribution. James also shows us the global situation, and how many European nations, as well as the small and newly born United States, would react to the Haitian revolution when the smoke had cleared.
Throughout we meet all the famous figures, from slave-general Toussaint l’Ouverture, future Emperor of Haiti, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and even Napoleon Bonaparte, none of whom were without their faults and failures. James looks to show these people, and the struggles they found themselves in, as they were, without any of the myth or romanticism attached.
With pivotal battles on and off the battlefield well described, James never strays from showing the inspiration and fervent desire of a people who took the motto: “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” to heart, looking to free themselves and create something never before seen in the world, and at what that ultimately cost.
|
|
|
Click here for our July events newsletter.
And, as always, view our events calendar to see all of our upcoming events.
We host both virtual and in-person events, and we look forward to seeing you soon.
| |
|
Come visit us!
SUNDAY 12-5
MONDAY-THURSDAY 10-8
FRIDAY & SATURDAY 10-9
| |
|
Can’t make it to the store?
Support your local indie from home!
Order by phone or online, then pick up at the store or the curb! We also ship!
| |
|
Give us a call at 801-328-2586.
Shop new books on our website
Browse our entire inventory of new, used and rare books on Biblio.com
Listen to audiobooks from Libro.fm
Read ebooks from Kobo
| | | | |
