Doyle’s Books owner Michael Brophy talks Steinbeck, the analog comeback and why bookstores bring him joy
When Michael Brophy was living in Los Angeles in the mid-90s, he had a bit more free time than usual, and so he decided to spend it catching up on books he hadn’t read yet. One day, he stumbled upon John Steinbeck’s non-fiction narrative about marine biology “The Log from the Sea of Cortez” which especially sparked his interest, as he has a background in biology. It moved him to such a degree that he began combing Los Angeles for a first edition of the book.
He found it at an antiquarian bookshop on Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, with a caged door and an old man sitting behind it. The old man told Brophy, “this isn’t a browsing bookstore, it’s a buying bookstore.” He then told the man what he was looking for, walked in and found his copy. Thirty years later, Brophy now runs Doyle’s Books in Fayetteville, NY, a rare and general bookstore that specializes in first editions from the 20th century, with a specific concentration on Steinbeck.
The youngest of nine in a family with many musicians and artists, Brophy founded Doyle’s Books as a side business in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2002, while working as an environmental consultant. He started out as just a collector, but during his time in Ann Arbor he met Jay Platt and Richard Leahy of West Side Books, and they convinced him to start bookselling. “So I got together some books and did the Ann Arbor Antiquarian Book Fair, and absolutely loved it,” said Brophy, who reflected with a warm look in his eyes. “It was awesome.”
He then began traveling around the area to rare book fairs to exhibit and sell his material while maintaining his “day job,” as he calls it. His work brought him to analytical laboratories in Illinois and New Jersey before he settled in New York, where in 2022 he was able to open a brick-and-mortar store in Fayetteville, a town about 20 minutes from Syracuse. He has since grown a community of repeat customers, hosts literary events, and expanded his store to sell vinyl records, art and photography books as well.
Brophy credits some of this success to the people of the Finger Lakes region being "abundantly friendly” to bookstores. “It’s only getting friendlier as we get bottle-necked into digital, isolated behavior,” he said. “I think people crave connection, conversation, you know, an enjoyable experience buying books. It's just a different experience. You go to Amazon and just quickly search something up– that's got no weight to it.”
Brophy insists on everything in his catalog being “gift-ready,” or in good
enough quality to buy for someone right out of the store. In their descriptions, rare booksellers refer to the condition of books on a scale from "as new, fine, near fine, very good, fair, to poor". He adds, “I have to be able to have books that you would not be embarrassed to give somebody as a gift. That's kind of my standard.”
He noted that the market has changed, and not as many people are willing to spend lots and lots of money on a single book. “When I started, if I had the odd limited edition Steinbeck, it would sell instantly,” Brophy said. “Now, that's a little more difficult.” This means he’s had to adapt his bookshop to include a range of prices, but he still has a soft spot for first editions.
When I asked him what bookselling meant to him, he told me that it’s “really the happiest thing I do. Not to wax too poetic, but I enjoy making people happy and connecting with people. I enjoy selling books, and I enjoy the people that it brings into my life. I’ve found it to be a sanctuary of just absolute joy.”
Brophy will be selling some rare Steinbecks, as you might have guessed by now, but his collection is wide and varied, and includes many things besides just books. Catch him and over 30 others exhibitors at this year’s Northampton Book Fair on Friday, November 20th, 5-8 pm and Saturday, November 21st, 10am - 4pm at the Northampton Community Arts Trust, 33 Hawley Street.
Written by Francisco Aguirre-Ghiso on 6 October, 2026.
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