Bookshop Interviews: An Interview with Dryad Books!

 

Hello and welcome to what I hope to be the first in a new series where I interview my favourite independent bookshops and booksellers. We'll learn their favourite books and hopefully pick up some reccomendations along the way and my first bookshop is....Dryad Books!
Enjoy!

Why did you start your online bookshop?

Many different things led me to Dryad Books, but I’ve always loved bookshops and I’ve always been enthusiastic about fantasy and speculative fiction. Combining these two loves made sense. Running Dryad Books online meant I could start small and gave me the flexibility to work around other commitments (University work, mainly!)

 

What is the best bit of running it?

This is sort of abstract but the best bit of running Dryad Books is that – almost every week – something comes up that makes me think ‘I can’t believe this is my job.’ For example, for our May book box, I commissioned an artist to design a pin featuring a little goblin wearing a garlic-shaped mascot suit. Writing that email was kind of surreal. I’m also really enjoying recommending books to customers at the moment. It’s always fun to chat with people who are just as passionate about books as you are, and I’ve gotten some awesome book recommendations back. (By TBR is endless!)

 

What is the hardest part of running your business?

Finances are tough. A lot of bookshops are struggling with the economy being how it is right now. There’s always a voice in the back of my head, asking, ‘Is this a viable business? Will this last?’ That being said, Dryad Books is the most stable it’s ever been, so maybe I just have to believe in myself and my little bookshop a little more!

 

What got you into reading?

I’ve always been a reader. My mum took me and my brothers to the local library all the time when we were tiny, and I’ve never stopped for long!

 

If you could only read one genre for the rest of your life what would it be?

Fantasy! There are so many different types of fantasy out there – I don’t think I could ever get bored.

 

Why do you think diverse books are important?

There’s something about recognising yourself in fiction and feeling that connection with a character that’s very affirming. In younger readers especially, feeling seen in fiction can help a reader build a firmer sense of self, or build their self-esteem. Diverse books can show diverse readers that they matter – that they deserve stories and space. Reading diverse books encourages empathy too, encouraging the reader to be open-minded in a way that can be more effective than non-fiction. The reader has to put themselves in a character’s shoes and see the world from a new perspective, which is especially powerful if the reader has not experienced the marginalisation said character may go through.

 

If you could recommend one book to my readers what would it be and why?

At the moment, the book I’m recommending to everyone who will listen is Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell. It’s part horror, focusing on a shape-shifting, man-eating monster called Shesheshen, part heart-warming fantasy romance (You just have to trust me!). It’s packed full of wonderful (and wonderfully awful) characters, is effortlessly funny, and features a lovely asexual romance at the centre of an otherwise action-packed and compelling plot. Wiswell is very clever in encouraging you to see the world from Shesheshen’s point of view; I felt very seen by her attempts to navigate the confusing human world and I loved how she never allows others to make her feel small for her differences.

Thank You so much for joining us Dryad and please all go and check them out at their website here!

via GIPHY