When you walk into Speaking Volumes in Markdale, you are walking into a bookstore with incredible depth.
Not only is the inventory rich in all subject areas, but the owner, Kevin Land, is a cultural resource that spans well beyond literature into theatre, film and music.
The result is that your search for a new book may well take you to places you didn’t expect. And that is one of the great joys of visiting a bookstore in person.
Speaking Volumes is a new and used bookstore which moved to Markdale 4 years ago and prior to that was in Flesherton for 6.5 years. It is a cultural treasure trove boasting a huge inventory in all subject areas.
Browsing the shelves and the stacks of books could take you days. No genre is off limits and includes many signed and rare editions including classic and contemporary Canadiana and international fiction.
Every customer walks in looking for a book to read and given the rich inventory it would seem impossible to leave without scratching that itch.
Kevin’s job is to fill that need and see if he can search an interest that the customer didn’t even know they had or maybe just elevate that area of interest in one direction or another. That is the joy and satisfaction of being a bookseller and the reward that awaits each customer.
Speaking Volumes is a community hub where people convene to talk books, culture, local politics and the price of groceries. It is also a place where writers meet to workshop ideas twice per month.
Kevin happens to be a very accomplished playwright with 17 published plays to his name, plus many other screenwriting successes, so he knows a thing or two about writing and loves to collaborate with other writers and share ideas and experiences.
I ask Kevin for a few recommendations or areas he gravitates to and he lands on authors who write in a visual way and include characters of moral ambiguity. One is Graham Greene and the other is James Lee Burke, who is new to me and I now look forward to discovering.
As Kevin said to me about his bookstore, “I love my job.”
He loves coming to work and meeting the people who walk through the doors. He loves to share his depth of reading and also be pointed in new directions from his customers.
And it’s clear from my conversation that he also loves people. Do yourself a favour and visit Speaking Volumes with an open mind an empty book bag ready to be filled with new reading adventures.
Written by Carey Low
Feature photo by Carey Low
Article photos by Madelyn Gould
