OPEN BOOK: THATCHER WINE & THE MARVELOUS WORLD OF JUNIPER BOOKS

Never have we needed an escape from reality more than right now. While physical escapes seem nearly impossible these days, mental vacations are just a page flip away. Thatcher Wine, founder of Juniper Books, has had a love for books ever since he was a child. He talks to us about his inspiration, all-time favorite reads, and the power of reading in difficult times.

“I think reading is one of the best things we can do to stay calm and keep our minds engaged and focused.” As the founder of Juniper Books, Thatcher Wine feels the realities of our new Covid-19 existence just like the rest of us. “Reading is not just about the stories on the pages, it's also about building our capacity to pay attention to one thing at a time and not get distracted by everything in the world that is trying to get attention.” If books are an escape we can all utilize from the comfort and safety of our own homes, consider the wares of Juniper Books your private jets that will take you wherever your heart desires.

“ I have always loved books - reading them, collecting them, and arranging my shelves. Juniper Books is really all about giving people more reasons to love printed books, now more than ever.”

He started with rare finds, and scoured the world for one-of-a-kind books. 19 year later, Thatcher and his team help clients rediscover books in a whole new way, with curated collections and custom book jackets that you won’t find anywhere else.

1. Getting in the habit of reading everyday may not be on the top of everyone’s quarantine to-do list, but it should be. According to Thatcher, it isn’t terribly difficult to jump right in. “I like to read right when I wake up, before the day really gets started. Sometimes it's just a magazine story (I love The New Yorker and Vanity Fair in particular) and sometimes it's one of the books I'm reading. Once you get into the habit, daily reading is much easier, and the benefits accrue over time.” Broader vocabularies, new outlooks, and peaceful distractions are just a few rewards that come from daily dives into novels like Little Women or The Sun Also Rises. “The more I read, the more effective I am at everything I do.”

To stay effective and sane these days, Thatcher turns to classics to sidestep the present. “I always find some humor and perspective in Kurt Vonnegut and Mark Twain, they seemed to be ahead of their times in knowing what craziness we live in and is probably in store for us. It's also good to have a long series to sit down with for the duration of the stay-at-home orders and beyond.” While we definitely have our favorites, such as the William Shakespeare Book Set, we’ve come to learn that Thatcher and his team have a set for every person, and couple, looking to leave home from the comfort of their couch.

When it comes to young couples selecting their first titles for their new home, Thatcher believes in starting with broader genres such as cookbooks and art and travel books. “Start with one book or one set you buy together, then you are well on your way to telling the story of who you are through the books you own, where you bought them, who you were with, and so on, it adds a lot of storytelling potential on top of the stories that are within the books.”

1. “Having a collection of books you build together is a wonderful thing. I always encourage families to have multiple collections within their homes so that it relieves the pressure of having only one book collection that everyone agrees on.”

Thousands of customers, 19 years of business, and endless inspiration has put Thatcher and Juniper Books at the apex of luxury literature and personal library curation. Thatcher’s book, For the Love of Books, puts all of his musings on books, thoughts on libraries, and literary expertise into one convenient and ornately covered bible. Check it out, and read on for thoughts on his process, all-time favorite reads, must-have books, and more.

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2. Tell us more about the process of creating your fabulous book covers

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4. One of my goals is always to turn books inside out, so when you look at a book set from across the room, you know what it is and can feel some of the emotion and power contained within the books just by looking at the covers. We go through a number of design ideas in order to arrive at our final designs. Our graphic design team lays out each book cover precisely, then we print and fit all the jackets here in Boulder, Colorado.

    

   • Which new books or collections are you most excited about for the upcoming season?

    

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6. We are launching a wonderful Women of Mystery book set - classic 20th century mysteries by women including Agatha Christie, Shirley Jackson and Patricia Highsmith. And speaking of the 20th century, we are also launching the second in our series of monthly subscription programs called Books Everyone Should Own - this one is all about the 20th century and features modernist covers wrapped around classics including 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.

    

   • What are your all-time favorite books?

    

7. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, High Fidelity by Nicky Hornby and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer are among my favorites. I love writers with a sense of humor and who are innovative in their writing style.

    

   • In a world that is overflowing with options, curation has become increasingly important. How do you curate the titles that you offer at Juniper Books?

    

8. Curation is very important to all the book sets we make and custom projects we work on at Juniper Books. I think it's all about being a good listener and having a very open mind and a lot of intellectual curiosity. We've had just about every request for authors and subjects over the past 19 years of being in business. We certainly are not experts in every genre, but we can curate wonderful collections of the best books because the curation process is our specialty, we start with an open mind, do a lot of research, and build upon all of the work we've done before and the many expert contacts we have.

    

   • What piece of advice would you give newly married couples when it comes to curating books for their new homes?

    

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10. Having a collection of books you build together is a wonderful thing. I always encourage families to have multiple collections within their homes so that it relieves the pressure of having only one book collection that everyone agrees on. So maybe for a couple starting out that means acquiring some cookbooks for the kitchen, and art or travel books for the living room. Start with one book or one set you buy together, then you are well on your way to telling the story of who you are through the books you own, where you bought them, who you were with, and so on, it adds a lot of storytelling potential on top of the stories that are within the books.

     

    • What are the must-have books from your collection that couples should add to their registries?

     

11. Having a set of Classic Cook's Books is definitely a cornerstone of any kitchen and home. Then having a set of impressive books for armchair travel is always fun - our Taschen Cities set is a good choice. Our Make Your Own collections are really fun too, you get to choose the books in your library. And, for the styles with jackets as our Stateside Steel design you can personalize the jackets, so they make a great gift for the bride and groom (From the Library of ____ can be printed on the inside flaps.)

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Written by James Francis Kelley