In our latest Meet the Bookseller post, we chat to Readings Carlton bookseller and customer service extraordinaire Dave Little about how he came to work in books, what books have made an impact on him, and what he’s looking to read next.

Why did you decide to work in books?

I started working at an independent bookstore in Brisbane soon after I studied literature at uni. I didn’t intend to stick around for too long but came to really love the sense of community and the interesting people that you work with throughout the book industry. Now it’s been about ten years in books – about five at Readings – and I still really love it.

Tell us about an Australian book that made a significant impact on you.

Wayne Macauley’s absurd and dark satires on Australian culture have definitely had an impact on me over the past few years, particularly his novels Caravan Story and Demons. I often think about his twisted and bizarre images of Australian life.

What’s the best book you’ve read lately and why?

I recently read The Recovering by Leslie Jamison, which was so smart and sad and compelling. It’s a memoir about recovery from addiction that analyses the work of some famously addicted authors after they got sober. Because Jamison herself is going through recovery, it becomes a kind of high-stakes literary analyses that’s very unique and beautiful.

What books are sitting on your bedside table right now?

I’ve got a few collections of poetry on my bedside table at the moment that I’ve been reading and re-reading: Life on Mars by Tracy K. Smith, Indecency by Justin Phillip Reed, Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire, Madness by Sam Sax and The House with Only an Attic and a Basement by Kathryn Maris.