Today on Rare Book Cafe: Talking books with Lighthouse Books' Mike Slicker

Today's guest on The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair's Rare Books Cafe will be Michael Slicker, owner of Lighthouse Books in St. Petersburg. 

A member of the Antiquarian Booksellers of America, Slicker is also founder and chair of the Florida Book Fair, the largest- and oldest- event of its kind in the American Southeast. As one of one only 450 ABAA members in the United States, Slicker resides at the pinnacle of the profession.

Slicker will be talking with the RBC panel about recent acquisitions, lore of the book trade, and the change in date for the Florida Book Fair, which is moving from its longstanding March dates to new ones in April for 2017.

Here's how Lighthouse Books describes itself:

Lighthouse Books, ABAA is a family-owned and operated book shop located near Tropicana Field in downtown Saint Petersburg, Florida. We have been in business more than 35 years. We're open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.   

Our specialties include Florida history and literature, Americana, literature of the South, military history (including, but not limited to, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Korean War), children’s literature, antique maps, leather bindings and rare & unusual items.  

We also have a wide variety of general stock, including a large landscape/gardening section, a great selection of Christian/church history/Bible study titles, Beat literature, fishing, aviation, maritime, Asian history, African history, European history, South Pacific, British history, archaeology, psychology, philosophy, Latin American and Caribbean history, Canadian history, discovery & exploration, art, antiques & collectibles' reference, pop-up books, railroads, hunting, fire arms, etc.   

About 25 per cent of our total stock is listed in our online inventory. If ever you're in the area, we invite you to come in and browse; to show our appreciation, we'll offer a 15 per cent discount off any purchases made on your first visit.  

In addition to keeping regular hours at the storefront location, Lighthouse Books participates as a vendor in about a dozen book fairs, antiques shows, map fairs and related events each year. One such show is The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, an annual trade show/charity benefit held in downtown St. Petersburg the second full weekend in March, that has become the oldest and largest antiquarian book fair in the Southeast. Slicker has served as chair since its inception twenty-nine years ago. 

The company also provides certified appraisal services.

Visiting St. Petersburg? Here's Lighthouse Books' contact information:

By email at LighthouseBooksABAA@gmail.com

By phone (Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST)
(727) 822-3278.

Or at the following address:
Lighthouse Books, ABAA
1735 First Avenue North
Saint Petersburg, FL 33713  USA

Rare Books Cafe is a weekly Internet production sponsored by the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair. It's live at blab.im every Saturday from 2.30 to 3.30 pm EDT/6.30 to 7.30 GMT.

The program encourages viewer participation via its interactive features and video: if you've got an interesting book, join the panel and show it to us!

Regular co-hosts include Thorne Donnelly, owner of Liberty Book Store in West Palm Beach; Steven Eisenstein, longtime Miami-area dealer and appraiser and host of the weekly radio program Buck$ on the Bookshelf at wdbfradio.com; T.Allen Smith, retired journalist, bookseller, and photographer for the Florida book fair; and Lindsay Thompson, owner of Henry Bemis Books in Charlotte, North Carolina.

To access the show, look up blab.im on your browser. Sign in using your Twitter or Facebook account, and type "Rare Book Cafe" in the search box.

Past programs are archived at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair site, as well as on Rare Book Cafe's YouTube Channel.