Welcome to a new instalment of our 5 questions with series. This time, we had the pleasure of interviewing Mika Weaver, the owner of Ottawa’s Singing Pebble Books.

Singing Pebble Books has been an Ottawa Main Street fixture since 1988 and is proudly independently and family-owned. The current owner, Mika Weaver, took over in 1995.

Since then, they’ve amassed a huge collection of fiction and nonfiction books, with a special focus on Eastern and Western spirituality, metaphysics, Wicca, psychology, and personal growth. They’re known for their curated selection of cards with an emphasis on Canadian designers, as well as their huge collection of puzzles.

Now, without further ado, let’s get to Mika’s answers to our questionnaire.

1. Which author would you most like to have for an event in your store (living or dead)?

I would have loved to have Maya Angelou in the store for an event. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is one of the finest works of memoir in my opinion and Maya was such a huge personality who spoke so eloquently. Some authors might not be great in person, but I think an event with her would become a spoken-word performance.

2. What attracted you to bookselling?

My father was a massive bibliophile. Growing up every gift was a book and quality time was spent browsing in bookstores. When he passed he left a collection of 40,000 titles, of which I have a few. I am less of a collector and more passionate about getting the right book into the hands of the right person. I like to keep the movement of books flowing which is part of the reason that we have expanded into used books in the last few years.

Books: what's not to love. They never go bad. They are one size fits all. Even a bad book can teach you something. Reading is good for you, it increases empathy and/or helps you fall asleep. I grew up working in health food stores and books are the material version of health food for the mind.

Inside of the Singing Pebble Books store

3. What's your favourite bookselling war story?

Honestly, I can't think of a "war story" with regards to customers who, as a rule, are the most lovely people ever and so appreciative. The closest thing I can think of would be the ongoing saga of the David and Goliath story that is competing against the evil empire (who shall not be named) and big corporations that cut into book sale (Costco, Shoppers Drug Mart, Indigo, etc.), or the side issue that is the customer demand for free/fast shipping (sometimes provided by the above players) that is becoming so expensive and hard to navigate. Oh, but wait, there was the three years that we had construction in front of the store and the street was down to one lane and detours were routing customers 10km out of the way ... but that is now in the past.

4. What is the most pressing issue facing bookselling today?

For many Canadian indie bookstore it is "How To Pay Back the Lovely Grant that the Federal Government Gave Out at the Beginning of Covid" a.k.a. "Who has a spare $40K in their bank account."

Also as I mentioned above, shipping is an ongoing issue as more customers are shopping online and free shipping can translate a potential purchase into a sale.

5. What forthcoming book are you most excited about?

The Future by Naomi Alderman, coming out November 7, 2023. I really enjoyed The Power and I like dystopian fiction and the blurb is reminding me of The Every by David Eggers which I also loved. Bonus that they are taking on corporate giants.

BONUS: An aunt comes in looking for a gift for her niece, who likes embroidery and Proust, just got a new job on a cruise line, and whose beloved schnauzer just passed away. What do you recommend?

The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie. Key words: pets, philosophy, and it's uplifting with a nod to the schnauzer who passed away by referencing reincarnation.

Thank you Mika for answering our questionnaire! Read more instalments of our 5 questions with series here.

Are you an independent bookseller, small publisher, or library staffer interested in being featured in our 5 questions with blog series? Send us an email!