10 years ago this week, our editor & editorial consultant meet when they begin employment at New York’s Strand bookstore on the very same day. (Though not at the exact same moment; Mr. Mazzara, a well-disciplined former Marine nearing 30, arrives to work on time, unlike Mr. O’Brien, then a far more insouciant kid of 23, who arrives 15 minutes late.)

Both are rather introverted, but they soon bond over their shared appreciation of punk rock & movie trivia & Philip K. Dick. For the next two and a half years, Mr. O’Brien constantly seeks Mr. Mazzara’s opinion on good literature, and is introduced to great writers like Alan Sillitoe, Raymond Carver, Thom Jones, & Yukio Mishima.

They both (voluntarily) leave the Strand in 2007, yet Mr. O’Brien continues to exploit Mr. Mazzara’s literary acumen, although now it’s to decide which stories are flappy enough for FLAPPERHOUSE. Here’s hoping they’ll work together on this venture far longer than their first…