West Roxbury Business Owner Says He's Living the Dream

Seek Books owner Brad Kinne is living the dream.

The West Roxbury resident has always wanted to open a bookstore since he was a kid and  he is lucky to say he got that chance in 2009 on Centre Street.

“It’s something I really enjoy,” Kinne said.  “I like sharing my knowledge with other people.” 

Seek Books sells everything from novels to baseball cards, rare action figures, old coins and a variety of other collectibles.

He has items as cheap as 50 cent sci-fi stories to as expensive as a $300 Batman poster.

Kinne said there’s no better feeling than seeing the excitement customers get when they finally find an old collectible that they’ve been searching for.

“ I like hearing customers say, ‘Woohoo! Another one off the list,’” he said. 

Patch sat down with Kinne and his friendly white cat, Asimov who keeps him company during business hours to learn a little more about him.

Patch:  What is it like owning a bookstore in a time where most people use e-readers and Nooks?

Kinne: Well I own a genre specific bookstore with science fiction, fantasy and horror novels.  I also have  religion, philosophy, psychology.  But because I’m genre specific and because most of my books are pre-1980 they’re things that people can’t really get on Amazon.  There’s a lot of it that people can’t get on a Kindle.  Unless, it’s a real classic, it hasn’t been converted electronically.


Patch:  What else do you sell besides books?

Kinne: United States coins, sports cards and memorabilia, collectibles like transformers, action figures, comic books.


Patch: What is the coolest thing you sell?

Kinne: My comics from the 50s to the 80s. It covers all cartoon characters, TV shows from the 60s and 70s and movies from that time period.


Patch: What are your most popular items?

Kinne: Books


Patch: Who are your customers?

Kinne: I’d say I reach everyone, but the missing block is teenagers.   I have pre-teen and post teen.  Because a lot of the stuff I have is hard to find, my customers are either collecting or trying to recapture their collection.  I have fans all over the world.  I have people that are all the way from South Korea who have been here.


Patch:  Why did you open in West Roxbury?

Kinne:  Opening in West Roxbury has been a life long dream.  In my teens I wanted to open a used bookstore.  I didn’t realize that when I finally fulfilled that dream, they’d become a past age (laughs).  I opened in West Roxbury because I live in West Roxbury and it has been really convenient.


Patch: Where did you get your passion for books?

Kinne: Well science fiction has always been a passion of mine.


Patch:  What did you do before opening Seek Books?

Kinne: I was a substance abuse therapist for the VA.  I was driving to Worcester and Gardner on a daily basis and I didn’t want to do anymore driving.


Patch: What could West Roxbury do better for small businesses?

Kinne: Well I guess parking is the biggest issue… and advertising.  The city of Boston could make a concerted  effort to advertise for businesses in the city and encourage people to shop local.


Patch: What do you like best about West Roxbury customers?

Kinne: That they’re diverse, friendly and supportive. 


Patch: What does your cat add to this store?

Kinne: All his friends come and visit him, people come and stop just to visit him.  He sits on their lap and they pet him.  He brings people through the door whether thy purchase anything or not. 

Seek Books is located at 1747 Centre St, West Roxbury.