About

Anyone with a Ph.D. in the humanities knows that such training is good preparation for a life of unemployment and dipsomania. Indeed, such an outcome is more or less guaranteed. In 2003 I completed a Ph.D. in English at Saint Louis University, focusing on the contemporary American novel. For several years I taught various literature courses at both Saint Louis University and Washington University as an adjunct. By the time economic vicissitudes were forcing colleges across the country to cut back (in my case eliminating the lowest paid, no-benefits positions … my bachelor’s degree in economics causes me to question this dubious move), I was already questioning my own motives for pursuing that Ph.D. My reason for studying English was that I loved books. Loved to read, certainly, but I also loved the physical objects themselves. I have collected books since I was a child and my small hovel was fast running out of room for my many new acquisitions. Books sales and thrift stores have always been good places for poor readers to acquire new treasures, and I have been haunting these places for years, picking up anything that caught my eye. Now I sell books … mostly the kind of books I like to read.

Every Hurley House book is carefully chosen, cataloged, stored, packaged, and shipped. I don’t like receiving a damaged book carelessly dropped in a bubble mailer or envelope, and you shouldn’t either. I’m disappointed when a “like new” book arrives only to have markings, soil, and considerable wear. I’m sure you are too. I grade my books’ conditions conservatively and describe them fully and accurately. The books I sell are not accompanied by some meaningless bit of boilerplate like “We ship fast!” “Tell me about the bloody book,” you may be saying, “not about how many days a week you venture out to the post office.” Whether you buy a book from me through Amazon or Alibris or my own website, you can be confident you won’t be disappointed when it arrives. I value books and readers. Some dealers treat their books as mere units, widgets to be sold. That’s a shame. For me, books are a way of life … my way of life. So take your time looking at what I have to offer on my website. I hope you find something you’d like to read.