Bonnie and Bob Olds were May’s featured customers of the month of Broadway Books (Portland, OR). You can can peruse their book picks on Bonnie and Bob’s book pages, or in the store on the shelf above staff recommendations. To preview past customers of the month please go to Broadway Books’ website.
Q & A with Bonnie and Bob Olds
Carrie: Do you have any formative book memories you’d like to share?
Bonnie:
Reading Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, which I discovered in my school library in the 6th grade. Every few years I go back and read it again.
Bob:
In my thirties, I read a novel called The Devil To Pay in the Backlands, by João Guimarães Rosa. It made such a lasting impression that when I recalled how much I liked it, in my late seventies, I tried to find a copy. Neither Broadway Books nor Powell’s had it, so I checked Amazon, where I saw the jaw-dropping price of $1,200. It had become a classic of South American literature, and a rare book! I found another copy for $50 and bought it so quickly that I didn’t notice it was in Spanish. I continued my online search after returning it, eventually locating a copy in a Virginia bookstore for $500. I called the bookstore and negotiated to $450. I read it the minute it arrived, as satisfied with the story of the Brazilian jagunco (outlaw) the second time as the first.
Carrie: What are you currently reading?
Bonnie: Murder in Constantinople by A.E. Golden and So Far Gone by Jess Walter.
Carrie: Is there a book you recently read that surprised you? Why?
Bob:
I have always been more interested in fiction than non-fiction, and least of all science and math. But a recent review of When We Cease To Understand The World, by Benjamín Labatut, inspired me to overcome my limited interest. This book tells the stories of four lesser-known figures whose impact on the world far exceeded any fame they achieved. The hybrid fiction/fact book offers a fascinating look at the lives these great thinkers led while making their discoveries. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, and appreciated learning about their work.
Carrie: Do you have a secret pleasure or genre you like to read?
Bonnie: British (mostly) police procedurals.
Carrie: Who are your favorite authors/books?
Bonnie:
Deborah Crombie: Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James novels. Cynthia Harrod-Eagles: Detective Inspector Slider mysteries. Martin Walker: Bruno, Chief of Police series. Iona Wishaw: the Lane Winslow mysteries. And anything by Ann Cleeves!
Bonnie and Bob have been coming to Broadway Books for 34 years, ever since it opened! Though their reading tastes differ, they’ve both enjoyed Michael Connelly mysteries, Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger, and Emerald Mile, The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko. They read together often, newspapers or books, always during breakfast, and often during lunch too.
