Sponsored by The Book Club of Washington
Sun Oct 23, 2:00pm Pacific Time
Book Club of Washington member Steven Woolfolk opened Xenophile Bibliopole & Armorer, Chronopolis with Brian Sheldon in December 2019. We’ve arranged a virtual visit with them to learn about its special contents. The exterior alone suggests that this establishment is something out of the ordinary, with globe street lamps imported from Brooklyn, New York, and five-foot twin gargoyles flanking the driveway.
This store (www.xenophilebooks.com) boasts one of the most comprehensive Science Fiction and Fantasy collections for sale anywhere in the galaxy. Mysteries and history are other strengths, in addition to movie posters, art, and ephemera. There is also a large nuclear technical area and, in the conference room, a micro-museum celebrating the Manhattan Project, featuring letters from General Leslie Groves, Robert Oppenheimer, and Albert Einstein, along with other fascinating ephemera.
The presentation by the proprietors will emphasize the history of Science Fiction and Fantasy illustrated by rare and unique items from the store’s extensive inventory.
Steven Woolfolk is a physicist who spent 50 years as a Health Physicist/Radiological Engineer, primarily in the management/disposal of nuclear waste. An avid book collector for decades and a bookseller at various conventions for more than a decade, he transitioned to bookstore owner after he retired.
Brian Sheldon previously owned the local bookstore Sheldon Library, which closed after his deployments as a military advisor in Iraq and Afghanistan. Initially, he was an alternative high school teacher but eventually went through several transitions before arriving at project management, all the while collecting books.