So our customers want sexy subjects and heart-stirring quality of production, and the two usually go together or not at all, as they're both determined by the publisher--that's the publisher's job. Hence, one can judge a book's desirability quite reliably by who published it. There will always be anomalies, but in general we want the better university presses: Cambridge and the British Oxford, especially Oxford/Clarendon Press; Princeton; U. of Chicago; U. of California for the generalists; and also others who do good lines in chosen fields, such as U. of Illinois for ethnomusicology; Yale, Abrams, Rizzoli, Skira for art; and so on.

What looks interesting and well-made is interesting and well-made, and is usually uncommon.

And PLEASE, if you have books to sell, call first: (617) 229-5644.