Get To Know Our New Member
Matt and Rebecca Whalon
WhalonBooks, Lakeland FL.
How did you come into this fine profession?
Matt – I was a voracious reader as a child and read my first Hardy Boys book when I was 8 years old, and began collecting soon after. I was fortunate to have several wonderful mentors who were book collectors and dealers, including Richard Mori and a family friend named David Livingston who was a prominent collector in New Hampshire. I began selling books in college and have continued ever since!
Rebecca: I was constantly reading as soon as I had the ability. Growing up surrounded by educators and librarians helped push me into librarianship as a profession. I appreciate books as both artifact and information sources. I work with historical materials and every day experience the impact that a well preserved and accessible book can have.
Do you have any areas that you personally collect?
Matt – I primarily collect children’s series books such as the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and Three Investigators, and books on history, especially the First World War.
Rebecca – I collect books about the earliest days of rocket and missile development, as well as nuclear history. I have a great collection of astronaut biographies. I also collect children’s series books from my youth such as American Girl and Dear America.
Who is your favorite literary person? And Why?
Matt – My favorite literary character is Lucas Corso, the book detective from Arturo Perez-Reverte’s novel The Club Dumas! He was played by Johnny Depp in the movie adaptation - The Ninth Gate.
Rebecca - The librarian from Roald Dahl’s Matilda.
If you could have a meal with any author [living or dead] who would that be? Why?
Matt – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! He witnessed and was part of many fascinating historical events and, of course, was the creator of the Great Detective.
Rebecca – I couldn’t possibly pick.
How would you wish FABA to be a help to you and your business?
Matt – I am very grateful for the opportunity to join FABA and for the opportunity to work with and learn from all of you! There is so much about the book trade we still need to become more knowledgeable about.
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How do you see yourself being a help to other FABA members.
Matt – I would be happy to help evaluate and appraise books with which I have expertise, such as Hardy Boys and other children’s series books. It’s thrilling to come across a new stash of them and discover the treasures within.
Rebecca - My background in libraries and historical collections can be beneficial to other members who had questions about the care and organization of books and associated ephemera.
If you have an open-shop is there any special events coming up?
We do not have a physical storefront at this time but work closely with Inklings Book Shoppe in Lakeland, FL – please visit them for the Lakeland Book Crawl on April 25, and for Independent Bookstore Day on April 29!
Susan Mick,
Tippecanoe Antiques Trader
Tallahassee, Florida
How did you come into this fine profession?
The handwriting was on the wall for me from a really young age…. I learned to read at four and was pretty sure that was the best thing in life. (I was right, by the way!) Mysteries and early children’s literature were my first choices, and still intrigue me, in different ways…Researching a book is the very best mystery I can think of and as a retired middle school teacher, I was totally excited when authors finally began to finally write literature for the inbetweeners (who found children’s books babyish and adult books hard and dull.)
Do you have any areas that you personally collect?
I grew up with antiquing and around antique lovers, so became a collector of old, unusual items and folk art; oh, and books, of course! I remember an elderly bookshop fellow in Michigan who took the time and trouble to show me how to identify early paper, parchment, and vellum. Wow! Finding and collecting authentically old papers and books became a lifelong avocation (or is that obsession?), and finally a retirement business.
Who is your favorite literary person? And Why?
One of my favorite literary persons is Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. To uproot from New York and settle down in rural central Florida takes an especially strong person, and that she was! I’ve read all she wrote and love her style & empathy with characters. Then, reading her Letters was an added insight to who she really was…
If you could have a meal with any author [living or dead] who would that be? Why?
Who would I like to sit down to lunch with? Eleanor Roosevelt, absolutely! What a person! What a contributor to the betterment of our lives! What an example for girls!
How would you wish FABA to be a help to you and your business?
How do you see yourself being a help to other FABA members.
Giving back and giving to FABA is important to helping us stay viable, as a group and as individuals. That means being able to feel comfortable to call or email someone and ask for help, or sharing information, or simply their opinions related to book matters. (My favorite example was when working antiques show with Mike Slicker… We were neighbors, and when the show was slow, I’d buy him a slice of homemade cake, (bribery!) and stand around and talk (ok, ask a zillion questions) to pass the time. Thanks, Mike!)
If you have an open-shop is there any special events coming up?
Tallahassee doesn’t have much going on in the book world, except for two really good Used Book Shops. But, we’re getting ready to shake that up a bit.
Tallahassee will be celebrating our bicentennial in 2024, and we’re generating interest & excitement! The Historical Society is sponsoring five different events throughout the year and I’m chairing the first one: An Antiquarian Book Fair.
Many of you heard me sharing about it all through the St. Pete show. We’re scheduled for Feb. 23-24-25 (falls just prior to the next Florida St Pete show). We welcome all book dealers, especially Florida ones! If you’d like info, email me at shmick@talstar.com.
Eventually, we’ll have a special website for all the events…but not by me…Tech is NOT my strong suit.
Our theme is “Immerse Yourself in History”. We’re adding collector’s tables, postcard dealers, and Elder Storytellers.
Meet Our New Member
Kerry and Kaaren Johnson
The Family Book Shop
Deland, Florida
How did you come into this fine profession?
Worked at a bookstore in high school, then in college and have been a lifelong collector. Opportunity came available to buy a bookstore we thought it would be fun. We probably bit off a too big a bite at first. Our store is 7,000 sq. ft. And approx. 400K books. It took us 8 years to
clean, label, organize etc.. to get the store to where we want it. We did discover that the store has a lot of gems and we get books in all the time which led us to seek out FABA and learn more about buying and selling collectible books.
Do you have any areas that you personally collect?
Kerry collects modern firsts, Stephen King, Michael Crichton and
horror authors, also small press limited editions. Kaaren reads a wide
variety but doesn’t have any major collections.
Who is your favorite literary person? And Why?
I guess I would say Mary Shelley. She was a fascinating person.
Being a female writer in the early 1800’s would have been hard enough but her subject matter was creative, innovative and prescient. Her themes of man vs technology ring true today. She was the architect of modern sci-fi and horror along with Edgar Allen Poe who would be my second choice.
Kaaren likes Laura Ingalls Wilder. She opened doors and wrote stories that captured young readers and taught them the love of books.
If you could have a meal with any author [living or dead] who would that be? Why?
How about a dinner party with Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming and J.R.R. Tolkien. I don’t mean to have a British theme but all are modern authors who were huge in their genre and left us with some of the most recognizable, most powerful and successful books and characters in history.
How would you wish FABA to be a help to you and your business?
To learn more and more about collectible books! Acquiring, pricing, selling everything. We are newbies at the business.
How do you see yourself being a help to other FABA members.
We are book and business people who run a successful very large bookstore. We have been at it 8 years and are willing to help in any way.
We also get in a lot of books in every day so we can be a source for other dealers.
If you have an open-shop is there any special events coming up?
Every year our national organization ABA, has an Independent Bookstore Day. This year that is Saturday April 29. We have exclusive merchandise, give aways, tote bags, signed books and more. It is a huge day for us and we invite everybody to support their local independent bookstore.