Book Lover Quirkiness in the JHUP Stairways

Book lovers are quirky. They push their noses into books in libraries or bookstores to fill up on that old or new book smell. They buy so many books there are stacks of Jane Austen novels propping up their coffee tables. They cite the first line of their favorite books so quickly you’d think it was written on the back of their hand. They paint quotes about books in their stairways.

Well, maybe that last one is unique to us, but at JHUP our journey up the stairs into our cubicles and offices is an adventure through words about our true love—books. 

As I make my trek up the stairs to the acquisitions department, James Russell Lowell’s words remind me “Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.” My mind turns toward one of our books, The Sting of the Wild by Justin Schmidt. Justin’s words on stinging insects carry the “quickening pollen” to entice and enthrall his readers. His intense passion for his research on stinging insects will convince you to fall in love with his book.

When I carry contracts to our director’s office on the second floor, I am greeted with Dr. Suess’s words—“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Here, I envision myself traveling to places far from the office such as Luzon Island, which you can read about in The Mammals of Luzon Island: Biogeography and Natural History of a Philippine Fauna. Oh, what fascinating mammals could be encountered on Luzon Island! It’s hard not to fall in love with a book that takes you to new places.

Heading downstairs to the mailroom, Groucho Marx’s words comment “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside a dog, it’s too dark to read.” Fortunately, in his book, Life in the Dark: Illuminating Biodiversity in the Shadowy Haunts of Planet Earth, Dante Fenolio introduces us to some fascinating creatures who do not mind the darkness. I’m not sure I would want to make friends with a common fangtooth, but I love that a world in the dark exists and is captured in such fascinating images throughout Dante’s book. 

As a book lover, I find a certain thrill working on books and being in a building so full of books and words and quirky people who love books too. I smile a bit as I walk the stairways and remember why we are all here: to make books, and hopefully, make books that readers will fall in love with. As the quote climbing up to the fourth floor from Ecclesiastes declares, “Of making many books there is no end.” So, here at JHUP we’ll keep loving books and making books and hope that you, as our authors, editors, and readers add some of our books to your beloved books shelves. 

Meagan Szekely is an editorial assistant at Johns Hopkins University Press. She is passionate about books, Coca-Cola, West Virginia, and 20-minute dance breaks. She tweets at @meagan_szekely.