
Ep. 81: Bookseller as human algorithm ft. James Webster
From Tasteland by Tasteland
February 18, 2026 · 51 min
About this episode
In this episode, Tasteland interviews James Webster, co-owner of Recluse Books, discussing the culture and logistics of running an indie bookstore.
Today on Tasteland we're speaking to James Webster, the co-owner of Recluse Books, an indie bookstore in Dallas-Fort Worth. __ Recluse Books Website Instagram __ Timestamps 00:00 Doing Italian things 03:53 Recluse best sellers 07:28 Logistics of picking and stocking 6,000 books 11:40 Bookstore culture of Fort Worth 15:05 Receiving feedback on book recommendations 17:11 Current reads 24:15 Running bookstore events 29:47 Bookstore location and community impact 36:04 Making books approachable 41:57 Reading hard books because they're hard __ Our intro song, Night Life, is written by Nakisso Peralta and performed by Chillers
People in this episode
Host: Tasteland
Guest: James Webster
Topics covered
- indie bookstores
- book recommendations
- community impact
- book culture
- logistics of bookselling
Keywords
- indie bookstore
- book culture
- Dallas-Fort Worth
- book recommendations
- community impact
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Recluse Books, Chillers
Books & works: Night Life
Places: Dallas-Fort Worth
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