The Mr B’s Team – where are they now?
To celebrate twenty years of Mr B’s, we’re taking a trip down memory lane – and popping in to say hi to some familiar faces along the way! Some of our former booksellers reflect on life at B’s, from funny memories and favourite experiences, to bizarre questions and brilliant encounters.
This time, we’re hearing from Jess, who worked here from 2015 to 2021!
A funny memory from your time at Mr B’s?
I had a small and not very clean hot water bottle that I kept leaving everywhere in the shop. Nic called it ‘Jess’s spleen’. About a month after moving back to Edinburgh I received a package to my new work place containing said water bottle, scribbled with messages from dearly missed colleagues.
What have you been doing since leaving Mr B’s?
I returned to my adopted home of Edinburgh and still love living here. Having spent a few very hectic years publishing a second book while organising against fossil fuel investments and in solidarity with Palestine, I’m now adjusting to parenthood with my wee eleven-month-old and different ways of working in community.
Since 2021 I’ve been part of the team behind Lighthouse, Edinburgh’s radical bookshop, where I work on events and digital campaigns. I’m also Program Director for Edinburgh’s Radical Book Fair.
What book did you love recommending the most to Mr B’s customers?
The Saga of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf has to be mentioned. It’s a Swedish classic, a magical realist romp set in the woodlands of western Sweden in the 1800s, now sadly out of print. I recommended it pretty obsessively throughout my time at Mr B’s and am oddly re-reading it right now for the first time in over a decade.
What 3 books are currently on your TBR pile?
How to Mend: Motherhood and its ghosts by Iman Mersal
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
Mister Mister by Guy Gunaratne
What was your favourite part about working at Mr B’s?
Most definitely my fellow booksellers. More often than not, working at Mr B’s meant being surrounded by laughter and glorious nonsense, which made so many days a joy.
