When you visit a different stranger’s home almost every day of your working life, you end up having a lot of interesting experiences—some incredibly elevated, and others rather harrowing. On today’s episode, we’re going over some of those highs and lows from Ken’s decades in book buying, from palatial estates filled with priceless antiques to hoarding situations infested with fleas. We never know what we’re going to find when we set out in the morning, which is what makes this job such an adventure. Join us as we revisit some of the most memorable spaces in the greater Boston area—for better or worse—on a hospitable new #brattlecast.
Brattlecast #66 - Surprises Beyond Books
On this episode Ken talks about the broad range of surprises that he’s experienced while book buying, apart from the books themselves. In his line of work, one day you’re drinking from Thomas Jefferson’s coffee service, and the next day you’re fumigating your work truck of fleas. The house that you’re visiting could contain a handful of Turner watercolors, or a roomful of live ammunition. It’s all part of the fun - as long as you don’t get blown up!
Brattlecast #34- Eccentric Characters
He's received a postcard from the South Pole, gotten into an absurd exchange with a member of Monty Python, and worked in close quarters with live grenades: it's all just another day on the job for Kenneth Gloss, proprietor of the Brattle Book Shop. On this explosive Brattlecast Ken talks about the wonderful weirdos and strange situations that have enlivened his years in the bookselling business.