Happy Meet a Bookseller Monday! We’re proud to introduce bookseller Rebecca Speas of One More Page Books in Arlington, VA.
How did you get into bookselling?
Long story short, I was working in a really terrible job that involved me wearing a medieval costume and referring to people as my lord/my lady, and my friend who worked at One More Page told me they were hiring people for the holiday season. I scrambled at the chance, and haven’t looked back since!
What do you love most about being a bookseller?
Recommending books to people is a puzzle that I have always loved tackling, even before I was a bookseller. Figuring out what books people enjoy and finding the next one to steer them towards is an absolute pleasure.
What do you love most about your bookstore?
Its character. My fellow booksellers and I have really imbued One More Page with bits of all of our personalities, and it is the best place I have ever worked. Our tagline at OMP is “where we take books, wine, and chocolate more seriously than we take ourselves,” and that attitude has really made the store a joyous place to work, even on the hardest days.
What are you listening to right now?
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
What audiobooks would you recommend or are among your favorites?
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (read by Will Patton), Milkman by Anna Burns (read by Bríd Brennan), The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (read by the author), The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher (read by the author)
Where / When do you listen to audiobooks?
On my commute, while I’m doing chores, while I’m playing video games
What is your favorite thing about audiobooks through Libro.fm?
Friendly and responsive folks at the company, an easy-to-use app, and a mission statement I can really get behind!
What do you do when you’re not selling books?
I’m an actor/director in the DC theatre community, a medical educator for local medical schools, a long-suffering cat guardian, an okay guitar player, and a hockey superfan.