Thumbnail for episode 3 of the Bright Archives podcast with a portrait of guest Ryan McLennan.

Ryan McLennan Talks About Books

For the second episode of Collectors Edition, we talk with Bottom Feeder Books owner Ryan McLennan. Ryan moved to Pittsburgh a few years ago, and opened the bookstore in 2022. The store reflects Ryan's interests in artist monographs, film, photography, modern and classic American literature, theatre, and poetry. Display shelves focus on aesthetically-pleasing book covers, and the stacks contain a number of first editions, hard-to-find (in Pittsburgh) exhibition catalogs, and a mix of heralded and lesser-known titles. A gallery at the back of the store showcases monthly exhibitions from artists—do yourself a favor and swing by the store for photographer Kelly Lanzendorfer's excellent show, which runs until December 10, 2023—and the front room frequently hosts readings from local writers.

We talk with Ryan about his own book collection and how he cultivates the store's collection. Ryan discusses early adventures in collecting M.U.S.C.L.E. figures (aka Kinkeshi) and punk and hardcore LPs. And we discuss the appeal of physical objects over digital reproductions.

With Collectors Edition, we are testing a theory, the theory that learning more about the objects people keep can help us understand more about the world and our places in it, like how we tend to associate objects with certain memories and histories.

“I love the look of things. Books that I seek out, it is because of the particular edition or the artwork on the dust jacket. They’re beautiful.”

Check out photographs of the store below, including a Bertolt Brecht’s book cover that inspired the Bottom Feeder Books logo. And follow Bottom Feeder Books on Instagram.

About the Bright Archives Podcast

The Bright Archives podcast explores what it means to build meaningful archives. We want to listen deeply to the world around us to investigate the value preservation has for all of us. The episodes are hosted by Katherine Barbera and David Bernabo.

Sign up for our newsletter to get notified of new episodes.

All Episodes