If you exit the Metro Gold Line at the South Pasadena stop, you’ll find a lawn that hosts picnickers and their tottering toddlers for Thursday evening farmers markets and summer movies. Head east along the South side of Mission, and you’ll discover the building housing The Battery Books & Music.
The aisles are narrow, tight and seem to wind instead of stand in rows. You can sit in the stacks to peruse the bottom shelf and smell coffee and tobacco and breakfast in bed while it rains. Each book has a history. Perhaps the one you open has red lipstick smears on the page or a name written in the margin. Owner Richard West, a man in jeans with a wild nest of greying curls, heads towards you, so you fold yourself into these books that have lived and been loved, so the two of you can linger.
T: How did you get into the used book business?
R: I was desperate for a job in 1991, and my customer, when I was working at a coffee shop, was Mark Sailor, and he managed or at least did a lot of pricing at Cliff’s Books, and I just went in there and kept bugging him, and he finally gave me a job. Cliff’s Books, 1991 through 1994. You know used books in general is just somewhere to hang. I always hung out in used bookstores.
T: So you hung out in used bookstores and then…
R: Yeah, even as a kid I remember buying Mrs. Murphy’s Underpants by Fredic Brown at House of Fiction when he was on Walnut, and Bill Tunila, he passed away a few years ago, Mark Sailor did too just a couple of years ago. But anyway, I’m not too sure what to say about that. Out of desperation did I actually start making a living at…
T: At used books, so why used books?
R: Yeah why used books? I did apply at Vroman’s, but I don’t really remember when. It must have been a few years later when I was back from Europe. It didn’t appeal to me. What I think is great about used books is a certain casualness about the way people run their businesses. There’s a fringe element to it all that I really like. Reminds me of the kind of music I play.
T: I couldn’t imagine a better thing to do than to sit surrounded by books, actually.
R: Exactly. I like doing the books. It’s not exactly what I thought I’d be doing when I was 50, but here I am, so.
T: Tell me a little bit about this store in particular.
R: Oh, well I went to South Pas High, and I don’t know if that has anything to do with this store, but I know this space. I feel like I know this space anyway, but this store, in particular, we sell a lot of fiction, a lot of lit, but I’m always surprised by what does sell. We sell unusual items. I love that we have a huge books in Spanish section. I let the workers play their music which can be really intense when I walk in sometimes.
T: (laughter)
R: Age group appropriate, at times. I like that it’s a hanging out place for some of the neighbors. We have seats in here, and people can sit down. Don’t necessarily have to buy stuff, and they can just actually keep me company although that is harder to make rent.
T: Any characters? It’s okay. We won’t know who they are.
R: Well recently there’s been a comic who’s been hanging out. Probably the most depressing comic I’ve ever met. He has a show coming up, and he’ll admit to it, but he likes our psychology section, which is also very funny to me. Let’s see who else, who comes and hangs, oh my friend, who’s in his 70s, and he gives me relationship advice and…
T: So tell me some of his relationship advice.
R: Stay healthy. He always parts with that bit of advice. Stick with the woman I’m seeing which is not necessarily my choice since she’s not willing to stick with me. Let’s see what else? God, I don’t know, he likes Michael Chabon.
T: So do I.
R: I’m listening to Summerland right now on audio. I turned him onto Jonathan Lethem, and that was great because that made him go into Chabon. I’m trying to think of who else I had him read, not Jeffrey Eugenides.
T: You mentioned that you’re surprised by some things that do sell, so what are some of the surprises?
R: I’ve worked in a lot of bookstores. I know that there’s an array of books out there, and there are going to be all different type tastes, but I’m surprised by how much philosophy sells, how much poetry sells, and obscure stuff, not really anything, not your run-of-the-mill poetry. I’m always amazed, and I love it when people come in and buy an engineering book. I just love it. I’m not an engineer, and I don’t do all that well in math or biology, but I just love that or a higher math book, you know, and say something like, “I’m really happy you have this in.” As opposed to whatever obvious things one should have in a store like Harry Potter books or Stephenie Meyer.
T: Who comes and digs through your vinyls? I see good stuff, Gladys Knight and The Pips, we got The Wizard of Oz…
R: That’s an odd one. It doesn’t have the booklet in it, but that’s really an odd one. I’ve never seen it before to be honest.
T: I love to sing along. You’ve got banjo and bluegrass, a Czech classic…
R: A wide variety, and we have all kinds of live music. Although I try to get live music that’s a little more experimental and not so mainstream because there’s not really a place for that anywhere in the area, including Pasadena. You’re going to have to go downtown or the Valley to get anything more experimental.
T: Experimental, tell me a little bit what you mean by that.
R. Oh let’s see, whether it be improvisational stuff or even ambient, but experimental in terms of what sound is, how we approach sound. Recently, I had some guys come in, and sure they were playing their instruments, their trumpet and trombone, but they had run it through on processors on their laptops, and then they were definitely making it sound really different, whether it be rhythmic or whatever, it was just coming out a whole different way through their processors. The drummer was unbelievable.
T: What nights are the music?
R: Usually Thursdays, sometimes Fridays. I think we have something this Thursday, Clark Chimp, who claims he’s from outer space, and actually he’s pretty mainstream pop singer, but he tends to play solo.
T: He’s mainstream pop, but he claims he’s from outer space?
R: That makes it a little edgy. I just like his songs, so we’re just going to go with it, and so I’m contradicting what I said before. I tend to have experimental. I do like the pop once in awhile, and he brings his…I can’t say it’s a good…poetry is better for people actually buying books for whatever reason. People who come to see music really don’t buy anything.
T: You also do some poetry in terms of your events as well.
R: Yeah. We like to. More so. When Dottie was still alive, Dottie Grossman. We haven’t had as many as I like to. Here we are a bookstore, and we have music. I would prefer to have readings more. I don’t know why. I don’t know why we don’t have more. I have a podium and everything.
T: So can people find out who’s playing?
R: It’s usually on our website, and we also have a mailing list.
T: I can find out on the website or get on the mailing list, and you’re going to figure out some kind of way of making music sell more books.
R: That’s right. We have a live streaming. This is live streaming I put together. It changes every day. The music does. You can also log onto that at Battery Books.
T: You know how they do wine and cheese pairings? You can do music and book pairings.
R: Yeah that’s a good idea. That’s a really good idea. I’m trying to get rid of my hoarding instincts, and that’s why I have this bookstore, and the other thing my social life, unbelievable, I have so many friends now. It can get lonely in here, especially late at night, but I do this shift for just that reason because I can handle the loneliness. I don’t think many people can. It’s hard, and it can get really crickety you know.
T: What’s her name? {Dog Enters}
R: That’s Sunshine.
T: Is Sunshine a particular breed?
R: She’s like a Corgi mix. I do enjoy having her here.
You don’t make friends online. Here’s the thing, I was online for thirteen years before I opened the store selling books. I didn’t make any friends. No friends. Thirteen years. You know you don’t have a social life. You sit in front of a computer. You put books on and that’s your life.
T: You enjoy having the shop because it’s much different than being online, but I think there’s probably something also for the people who come in right?
R: I hope so
T: What’s your sense?
R: I hope I’m not an annoyance.
T: No, I mean they could go online right?
R: Well that’s the thing, we did have a sort of guiding principle when we, well we have to. That’s our competition. It’s not other bookstores. In fact, just the opposite. It’s like let’s add a couple more. I try to convince friends to get some in the neighborhood or at least closer by. I mean you can go to Read Books or you can go to Century. Cliff’s is closed now, but they’re the two next closest. Read Books is in Eagle Rock; Century’s in Pasadena, but, and I tell my workers, “Look if we don’t have it, you send them there or Book Out.” Because, our competition’s the Internet.
T: It’s the culture. It’s creating the culture of the community of the bookstores coming in.
R: Yeah, what do you have online? Anonymity. I don’t know if that’s what we need more of. I don’t know. It’s so weird. There’s so much pressure. It’s draining. I hate that it’s controlled our lives. I hate it. Actually, you are forced to deal with it.
T: So what kind of questions do you get from customers?
R: Have you read all these? Is this your dog? I’m going to start charging for every pet that they give her. There’s these places in Japan and Tokyo where people because they have such small places. You know they live in smaller quarters. They don’t have room even for a cat, so they have a place, a cat cafe, where you go pet a cat. I’ve seen pictures of them. There’s fifty cats in a room being pet by people. It’s hilarious, and I’m thinking of charging. I’ll rename the store.
T: The dog is the attraction.
R: It becomes the attraction. “Is your dog here? No? Ok, bye.”
T: (laughter) but there’s something, right, in the human interaction that you don’t get when you’re, not just for you, but for customers.
R: Well sure, sure, admittedly online, it’s fun. It’s easy, and it’s really quick, super immediate. Unless they don’t have it, in which case, you do have to go searching.
T: It’s not as immediate as going in and taking a book home with you though.
R: Good point, and the doctor’s in. Good advice on the way. You gotta change that tie. Or those shoes look nice. Yeah, I don’t know. I hope so, and I think I’ve hired people who’ve been pretty, what’s the word? I’ll just go with friendly, but sometimes overly so. I got one employee, oh my god, talks up a storm and knows a lot about classical music, and we’ve got another who plays jazz, pretty straight ahead jazz. I love that.
T: OK last one, so considering some people collect books as a hobby, and you collect books as a business, what do you do as a hobby?
R: Well, let’s see. You know I think this is my hobby doing the live stream. I love it. I used to compose. Goddamn it. Over the summer I was composing again, so I guess you’d consider it a hobby. I still play music. It’s a hobby. Sadly, I hate coming to that point where music’s become a hobby because I’d taken it so seriously for so long. Playing basketball. I still play 50 years old. I read. I love it. I go see shows.
T: It’s kind of nice in this space, at night.
R: It is all right. Yeah, I agree. The traffic going by.
T: You’ve got books. You’ve got the music.
R: You got to love it if you have books. I mean unless you forget your glasses. I play chess. I started playing chess last year. I can’t wait ‘til my chess partner shows up tonight, we’re going to play back here. It’s always here.
T: You’re a dad.
R: Yeah. That’s the thing, you know. You don’t really get the luxury of hobbies anymore. I quit collecting. I’m selling off everything. How many times can I listen to this record in my lifetime? Or read this book? I don’t have any more time.
T: I’m not allowed to go into bookstores because I already have too many. The books have taken over my house.
R: I had a formula before kids before I got into the book business.
T: Growing towers.
R: Yeah. But I could actually sell off, and I love that about used bookstores. You could do that and trade and get.
T. I get attached.
R: I know. I know. I know that problem. Really well. You should see my house. I’m serious.
T: My books are arranged by Dewey Decimal.
R: You lie.
T: I’m, I’m serious.
R: You need to leave.
T: I have a book in every section.
R: Really?
T: That’s what really surprised me. I organized them. I just moved not that long ago. I could never find the book I was looking for. So there’s an organization system. It’s called Dewey Decimal.
R: I know. It’s amazing. Have you read High Fidelity?
T: My husband totally gives me so much crap for that.
R: I think it’s totally cool. I used to be perfect about organization.
T: He moves books just to see if I’ll notice.
R: No way.
T: But I do have towers too growing in places. When I start reading…
R: Sure, sure, you have to. That’s a really great thing, I love that. I love having books at the night table or books stacked that I’m reading. It’s cool.
By T.M. Semrad
an Editorial Assistant for Black Clock and an MFA Writing candidate at CalArts
One Response
[…] Här är en intervju med en bokhandlare i Pasadena som heter Richard West. Hans antikvariska bokhandel heter Battery Books. Han säger saker som skulle kunna komma ur min mun, som: ”What I think is great about used books is a certain casualness about the way people run their businesses. There’s a fringe element to it all that I really like.” Eller: ”I know that there’s an array of books out there, and there are going to be all different type tastes, but I’m surprised by how much philosophy sells, how much poetry sells, and obscure stuff, not really anything, not your run-of-the-mill poetry. I’m always amazed, and I love it when people come in and buy an engineering book. I just love it. I’m not an engineer, and I don’t do all that well in math or biology, but I just love that or a higher math book, you know, and say something like, ‘I’m really happy you have this in.’” Antikvariatsbokhandlare är kanske lika varandra, men denna korta intervju säger mig att jag och Richard nog har mer gemensamt än vad jag har med de svenska antikvariatsgubbar och gummor jag är bekant med. […]