What makes a good book appraiser? Experience, a willingness to admit what you don’t know, and a way to get in touch with someone who does. Today we’re talking about the wide range of appraisals the Brattle gets involved in—from casual evaluations at the shop to written reports for tax or insurance purposes. It’s usually easy to tell when a book has only literary or sentimental value (and people are often surprisingly happy to hear it), but things get trickier when the books turn out to be valuable and rare. We’ll also talk about appraisals that miss the mark, including one for a signed (by someone) copy of a first (Canadian) edition of a classic American novel.
Brattlecast #91 - Reach Out and Read
In this episode Ken talks about the Brattle’s early involvement with Reach Out and Read, a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to encouraging families to read together by incorporating books into pediatric care. It all started at Boston City Hospital in the 1980’s with a few volunteers and some donated children’s books. It’s been a joy to support their vital mission. Visit reachoutandread.org to learn more and to help out.
Speaking of young people, the Brattlecast warmly welcomes a brand-new friend of the pod—Ken’s grandson! Congratulations to everyone involved in the creation of this baby genius.