Ep. 81: Bookseller as human algorithm ft. James Webster

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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