How long have you worked at Lemuria?

I’ve worked at Lemuria for 2 months now (I think)! It’s been a thrilling journey with all my new pals!

What do you do at Lemuria? 

At Lemuria, I’m the special main desk guy who accidentally gets called ma’am all of the time because of my long hair, and I’m in charge of the travel section! I think it would be fun to be more involved with the music books at the store, in order to sell more of those and to broaden my knowledge of music that way.

Talk to us what you’re reading right now.

Right now I’m finishing up Viv Albertine’s memoir To Throw Away Unopened, which comes out in May. It’s fantastic. She has a really honest and compelling voice that I think stems from her becoming an author later in life, and I have really enjoyed that. I’ve also barely gotten into Tom Rubython’s recent biography about Barry White (White Music), but I’m excited to pick that back up when I’m finished with the Albertine book.

What’s currently on your bedside table (book purgatory)?

Unfortunately, I’m pretty bad at leaving books unfinished on my bedside table (which I think is probably a common trait amongst Lemurians), so right now my stack is pretty high. There’s Geronimo Rex by Barry Hannah, Absolutely on Music by Haruki Murakami, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, and a few more. I would love to press pause on the world for about a week and just finish all the books that are living in that purgatory, but I’m not sure that will happen.

How many books do you usually read at a time?

I try to finish a book before I start another one, but working at Lemuria has really made that difficult because of all the wonderful things people have suggested I read, both past and present. So sometimes I’ll be reading a few at a time because Katie or someone will tell me that I HAVE to read this or that, and I’m pretty easy to persuade in that way.

I know it’s difficult, but give us your current top five books.

This is a really difficult question, but in no particular order I would say these are my top 5 favorite books that I’ve read thus far in my short time here on earth:

• The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
• Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
• Seymour: An Introduction by J.D. Salinger
• The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Favorite authors?

Faulkner, Steinbeck, Hemingway and other classics are hard to beat for me, but I also really love the more contemporary novels I’ve been reading since I started working at Lemuria. And I really enjoy the contemporary female authors I’ve read lately as well (like Jesmyn Ward, Banana Yoshimoto, etc.)

Any particular genre that you’re especially in love with?

I’m a sucker for anything that’s emotionally powerful or artistically inspirational in some way, and a lot of books that have greatly impacted me have probably been the ones that weren’t intentionally made for those purposes. I appreciate honesty and authors that write because they have something to say, and books that carry a heavy message around that you remember and think back on for a long time afterward. And I really enjoy reading weird, avant-garde works of fiction, but the books that have ended up being my favorite are simpler novels that convey the human experience in a powerful way.

What did you do before you worked at Lemuria?

Before I worked at Lemuria, I was going to school at Loyola University New Orleans and playing a lot of music with a lot of wonderful people. I decided to transfer to Millsaps this fall and be closer to home because Jackson, Mississippi is a magnet that I just can’t stay away from for long or I get out of wack.

If you could share lasagna with any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you ask them?

I would love to gobble down some lasagna with John Kennedy Toole, so I could tell him how amazing I think Confederacy of Dunces is. His story is tragic and I want to give him a big hug and thank him for that book.

Why do you like working at Lemuria?

I like working at Lemuria because I love that sweet, sweet Lemuria book smell I get everyday when I walk in Oz. I love being around this great group of booksellers and listening to John’s favorite R&B hitmakers on a daily basis. The thing I love most about working here though is how much I learn both from the intelligent, beautiful people around me and from the books I’ve read.

If Lemuria could have ANY pet (mythical or real), what do you think it should be?

I think we should have a little mini Austen Jennings rabbit that bounces around and plays mischievous pranks on people around the store all day for my sole enjoyment.

If you had the ability to teleport, where would you go first?

I think if I could teleport anywhere in the world I would go to Big Sur and backpack with some of my good friends who are there right now doing just that. That sounds fun.

How long have you worked at Lemuria?
I have worked at Lemuria since June 2017, so 10 months!

What do you do at Lemuria?
I’m the person at the front desk who, according to my coworkers, always has fun with my customers! I’m always up for a good book chat, recommendation, or laughing at my own mistakes. I’m also in charge of the cooking, gardening, bar, and health sections. There are so many books in those areas of the store, but I love going through them and finding new favorites to recommend.

Talk to us what you’re reading right now.
I just finished Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton, a fantastic thriller which comes out in June. I’m also finally reading The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne, which I can hardly put down!

What’s currently on your bedside table (book purgatory)?
I picked up The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa a year and a half ago in Portugal, planning to read it after I graduated. Hasn’t happened yet.

How many books do you usually read at a time?
I have always been the type of person who reads one book at a time. Then I started working at Lemuria. So currently, I’m reading four.

I know it’s difficult, but give us your current top five books.
How about my top five books since working at Lemuria?

• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles,
• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
• American Housewife by Helen Ellis,
• Fire Sermon by Jamie Quatro
• Celine by Peter Heller

Favorite authors?
Mark Doty, Gail Carson Levine, Jeffery Eugenides, Shannon Hale, Kay Ryan.

Any particular genre that you’re especially in love with?
Poetry. And everything else.

What did you do before you worked at Lemuria?
I attended Belhaven University, studying Creative Writing and English.

If you could share lasagna with any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you ask them?
Jeffery Eugenides. It would be amazing to talk about life and literature and the writing process.

Why do you like working at Lemuria?
I love the way everyone here is so passionate not only about books, but about the business. Mississippi culture and independent bookstore culture mix so perfectly. There is a genuine desire to help every customer find not just a book, but the right book.

If we could have any living author visit the store and do a reading, who would you want to come?
Mark Doty. I love his poetry, it’s so concise and elegantly shimmery, and it would be fun to hear his own verbal interpretations.

If Lemuria could have ANY pet (mythical or real), what do you think it should be?
A little monkey to climb up the shelves and retrieve books.

If you had the ability to teleport, where would you go first?
I would go back to Belfast and visit everyone I met while studying abroad. Then I would go back to California and visit my family. Then I would go to Russia, because I’ve always wanted to go.

How long have you worked at Lemuria?
3 months

What do you do at Lemuria?
I’ve just started to help manage our First Editions Club.

What are you reading right now?
The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559
Ranger Games – very much looking forward to the reading on November 2

What’s currently on your bedside table (book purgatory)?
The Iliad and The Social History of Art

How many books do you usually read at a time?
A few, usually different genres

I know it’s difficult, but give us your current top five books.
1. Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
2. Hieronymus Cock: The Renaissance in Print
3. St. Paul: A Screenplay by Pier Palo Pasolini
4. The Temple of Dawn by Yukio Mishima
5. City of Bohane by Kevin Barry

Favorite authors?
In addition to Delany, Mishima, and Barry: Aldous Huxley, Jorge Luis Borges, John Berger, Frank Herbert, Roberto Bolaño, Alain Badiou, and too many others

Any particular genre that you’re especially in love with?
Science Fiction, always and forever, I hope

What did you do before you worked at Lemuria?
I taught printmaking courses at Mississippi College

If you could share lasagna with any author, dead or alive, who would it be?
(Vegetarian) lasagna with Badiou, drinks with Dante and Mishima.

What would you ask them?
How to live.

Why do you like working at Lemuria?
The spirit of the place. Everyone here deep-down cares about books and that’s a very cool thing.

If we could have any living author visit the store and do a reading, who would you want to come?
Patrick Rothfuss for book 3

If Lemuria could have ANY pet (mythical or real), what do you think it should be?
Very intelligent ferrets

If you had the ability to teleport, where would you go first?
In space only – Tikal
In space and time – Florentine Republic

How long have you worked at Lemuria?
I have been working here for almost a month.

What do you do at Lemuria? 
I mostly work the register now, but I really like helping people find new books to read.

Talk to us what you’re reading right now.
I actually just started reading A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin. I also have been reading a short story collection by Richard Matheson off-and-on for the last few months. I am also always reading comic books and graphic novels.

What’s currently on your bedside table (book purgatory)?
Foundation by Isaac Asimov. I’ve had it for about a year, and it’s a really heavy read. Also several of the old Star Wars books.

How many books do you usually read at a time?
I try to just stick to one at a time, but I usually end up at 2-3.

I know it’s difficult, but give us your current top five books.
Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Favorite authors?
H.P. Lovecraft, Douglas Adams, Richard Matheson, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke. A lot of authors actually.

Any particular genre that you’re especially in love with?
I love science fiction and horror. Also high fantasy, if it’s really good.

What did you do before you worked at Lemuria?
I’ve been focusing on school for a few years, but before that, I worked at a comic book store here in Jackson.

If you could share lasagna with any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you ask them?
One of the older authors who predicted things that came true, like Jules Verne or Aldous Huxley. I’d want to ask them how they knew what they knew.

Why do you like working at Lemuria?
It sounds like a cliché, but I love books. I like working around things that I love, and getting to share them with customers.

If we could have any living author visit the store and do a reading, who would you want to come?
Someone really famous and fun with a lot of buzz around them. Like Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, or George R.R. Martin.

If Lemuria could have ANY pet (mythical or real), what do you think it should be?
That monster book from Harry Potter. The one with the teeth and eyes that tries to bite everyone.

If you had the ability to teleport, where would you go first?
Mars.

How long have you worked at Lemuria? About a month, just in time to get thrown in the deep end during Christmas.

What do you do at Lemuria? Right now, I work at the front desk. I love seeing what books people buy; I’m making a mental to-read list based off of what books slide across the counter!

Talk to us what you’re reading right now. I’m reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Steven Spielberg is making this into a movie, so I wanted to read it before it comes out in theaters.

What’s currently on your bedside table (book purgatory)? My bedside table tends to be Death Valley for unfinished books. I have a very bad habit of starting a book, putting it down, and then never picking it back up again.

Currently there is Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan and The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen

How many books do you usually read at a time? Usually between 2-3

I know it’s difficult, but give us your current top five books. I don’t really have any “current” favorites, so I’ll give you my all time favorites.

Persuasion by Jane Austen, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, The Witches by Roald Dahl

Favorite authors? It’s cliché, but I just love Jane Austen. I have been to a Jane Austen festival and I’m convinced that’s the closest I’ll get to heaven on earth.

Any particular genre that you’re especially in love with? I love science fiction, fantasy, mysteries. I am a total sucker for cozy mysteries.

What did you do before you worked at Lemuria? I have a degree in graphic design and I worked at a marketing agency. I decided that I liked the world of books much better than the world of computers!

If you could share lasagna with any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you ask them? Dorothy Parker. She’s the only poet I’ve really gotten into. I would love to listen to her hymns of hate in person.

Why do you like working at Lemuria? I love the atmosphere. I love that I’m surrounded by books for a living. I was always the kid that got in trouble for reading while the teacher was talking or staying up way past my bedtime reading just one more chapter. Now I’m doing those things as my job!

If we could have any living author visit the store and do a reading, who would you want to come? There’s this cartoonist/children’s book author named Kate Beaton and I would love for her to come. She would come under the premise to do a children’s storytime for Oz, but in reality I would monopolize her attention talking about her hilarious history comics.

If Lemuria could have ANY pet (mythical or real), what do you think it should be? Real: Lemuria’s shelves are just begging for a cat to laze about on them. Or maybe a carrier pigeon to carry books back and forth between rooms.

Mythical: Has house elf been said before? (Ed. Note: Yes.) An independent house elf that wears Lemuria t-shirts.

If you had the ability to teleport, where would you go first? I spent a semester in London when I was in college, and I’ve been itching to go back ever since.

How long have you worked at Lemuria? About 5 months.

What do you do at Lemuria?  Whale, I am part time so I usually come in during the afternoon and do some shelving and annoy my co-workers at the front desk who are ready to leave for the day ? I just finished high school and will graduate in July, so I will be around a lot more now and will really experience the everyday flow of the store.

Talk to us what you’re reading right now.  I recently dove into Murakami’s 1Q84 and am enjoying my swim around in it a whole lot. It’s the first Marukami I’ve ever read, and I can’t really seem to put it down or stop thinking about the characters. I am also reading my first graphic novel, Watchmen by Alan Moore, and am looking into becoming a superhero.

What’s currently on your bedside table (book purgatory)?  Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, Brave New World Revisited by Aldous Huxley, Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, and Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut

How many books do you usually read at a time?  Always 2, sometimes 3. There are definitely exceptions to this. If I start reading a book and know it needs my full and undivided attention, I won’t cheat on it.

I know it’s difficult, but give us your current top five books.  We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, The Shining by Stephen King, Searching for the Sound by Phil Lesh, 1984 by George Orwell, and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Favorite authors?  George Orwell, J.D. Salinger, and Chuck Palahniuk

Any particular genre that you’re especially in love with?  Fiction. I love fiction.

What did you do before you worked at Lemuria?  My first job was as a hostess at a restaurant and Lemuria is my second job.

If you could share lasagna with any author, dead or alive, who would it be? What would you ask them?  I’d eat some lasagna with J.D. Salinger. He was a pretty reserved guy while he was alive and wrote some really great stuff. All of his works have a TON of underlying meanings, and I’d love for him to explain those to me. I know I’ll never figure all of them out.

Why do you like working at Lemuria?  Man, I learn so much. Whether it’s from the books or my coworkers or the customers or the visiting authors, I am always learning something.

If we could have any living author visit the store and do a reading, who would you want to come?  Stephen King. The man has got fear figured out. To have him read part of a chilling story in the dimly lit DotCom building… amazing.

If Lemuria could have ANY pet (mythical or real), what do you think it should be?  We do have a jar for bear money… or it may be beer… but either way it has like $7 in it so I think we should get a bear. Abbie had the great idea of naming it Bear-y Hannah, and he could reach all the high shelves for me since I can only comfortably reach the fifth.

If you had the ability to teleport, where would you go first?  I would love to go camping on an uninhabited (but safe) island in the middle of the ocean.