The Iliad Bookshop family lost one of our own yesterday (7/14), with the abrupt passing of employee Brett Brezniak. Brett suffered from a variety of health issues that had increased over the last few years, but his death from a massive heart attack at the age of 51 (as he was driving to the ER) was something that none of us really expected. He had worked the day before and seemed fine.
Brett, who had owned his own bookstore before coming to work for the Iliad, wasn’t just a lifelong bibliophile and bookseller, he was also a gifted guitarist with an encyclopedic knowledge of music. Up until the pandemic shut down live venues in March of 2020, Brett played live shows all over L.A., whether solo or with his last band, the Round Earth Society. Take a listen here to Brett’s extraordinary playing:
Before Brett came to work at the Iliad, he had his own bookshop, the Little Old Bookshop in Whittier. Here’s an article from 2008 about Brett and his store (with a great photo of him). Unfortunately Brett sold his bookstore in 2011.
RIP Brett. We’ll miss his low-key good humor, his conversation, his recommendations on both music and books, his kind soul.
