He’s everywhere: on a local university campus in the middle of the day, street festivals at night and online at all hours. Most don’t know his name, but, if described, his image is ineffaceable from the mind. His birth name is John Thompson, but he was always destined to be the Bookman.

“It’s always very nice to be recognized. A lot of people compliment me on what I do, and they’re grateful that I’m there. I get a lot of that,” Thompson says.

The soft-spoken, grey-haired book salesman, who has hauled loads of classic literature from campus to festival and back for nearly four decades, has cemented himself as a local fixture. He recounts his humble origins as a business-savvy undergraduate at the University of Manitoba in the late ’80s.

“They used to have a student book exchange where you could bring your old textbooks and other texts and put them up for sale and sell them on consignment with the student union,” Thompson says.

“Back in those days, and I still do, I was collecting vintage paperbacks, so I would go to garage sales and thrift shops looking for stuff. I thought, hey, I could try selling literature and classics, and maybe it would be viable. It worked out pretty good.”

Constrained by the technology of the time, Thompson’s ambitious entrepreneurial efforts were thwarted, forcing him to strike out on his own.

“I got thrown out of (the student book exchange) because I was bringing in so many books. I was overwhelming their computer system,” he says. “This was a long time ago, when the computers weren’t what they are now. Near the end, they had quantity limits, and I was one of the reasons they instigated that.”

Thus, the Bookman was born, after a few business seminars recommended he adopt a brand name.

“I never had a business name up until relatively recently. I didn’t really see the need for one,” he says.

A one-man operation, Thompson stores his wares in his own home and handles all the physical and logistical labour involved himself, incorporating a strict exercise regimen to keep up. He sources inventory from garage sales, flea markets and thrift shops, only occasionally buying books in bulk from private sellers.

“You have to have a good eye. It’s a numbers game. I try to keep prices as low as I can, but it’s getting more difficult to get stuff nowadays,” he says. “Lately, demand for the books has been crazy. I’ve never seen it so nuts. I have trouble keeping up with it. Since the pandemic has ended, there has definitely been an upsurge.”

Despite the challenges, Thompson is proud to continue a since-faded tradition of bringing quality reading material to the masses, wherever they may be.

“When I first started in the business, there were two other people who used to sell books on campuses as well, but there’s nobody that does this anymore. I’m the only guy.”

Find Bookman’s latest stock at the University of Manitoba from Nov. 20 to 23.

Published in Volume 78, Number 07 of The Uniter (October 26, 2023)