Meet Tom, the owner of Macaluso bookstore. I was lived near his store four years ago. Every time I passed by it, I was wondering what’s inside. Finally I had chance to meet him.

What did you do before you open your  bookstore?

I  had been a law book and document editor for a few years after college and law school.  When my wife Brenda and  I started the book business  42 years ago I had already gone to graduate school and had a thirty-five year career as a law and English professor and dean.  I retired from  higher education 18 years ago to devote full time to the bookstore.

Why a bookstore?

I started  collecting books when I was 14 years old and have always  loved them .

What make your bookstore special?

Our books, maps, and prints are special because they are relatively scarce and of lasting interest.  Unlike other used bookstores, our store’s books are mostly the original first edition hardbacks in very  good condition and some are hundreds of years old though some are relatively recentl though notable publications.

What book is your greatest treasure & why?

Right now,  I have first editions signed by the  Wyeths, T..S. Eliot, Carl  Sandburg, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Franklin  Delano Roosevelt, and many others.  And I have first editions by Hemingway, Orwell, Darhl, Dickens, Harper Lee, and thousands more and on every subject from art to zoology  They are virtually all my treasures.

What’s the hardest thing about running your shop? What’s the best thing?

It can be difficult to help visitors appreciate the physical beauty of the book, that is the book arts.  The best experiences are the talks about books, education, and life itself especially with young people.