It seems every time I open up Publishers Lunch these days, I discover that another beloved local bookstore is closing. This week it was the Oscar Wilde Bookshop in NYC's Greenwich Village, but we're losing stores all over the country. However, instead of mourning the ones we've lost, I want to give a shout out to the ones that persist -- those we can make an effort to support in these troubled times.
To kick it off, my all-time favorites would be Powell's in Portland, Shakespeare and Company in Paris (perhaps a cliché, but it's still a great place for browsing), and Austin's BookPeople. Each of these have provided me refuge, inspiration, or just a contented afternoon at some time or other in my life. And more importantly, these are the stores who aren't being bought: who put books they love (not just ones with a kick-back) in the windows, and who support local authors, which is all of us. What shops in your area or around the world deserve recognition? Share your stories and tout your personal favorites in the comments section below or in the forum.
And we shouldn’t forget the Strand in NYC…
I love the Co-op Bookstore here in Montreal, as they’ve got both new and used books, along with fun artisan consignment stuff if you’re looking for gifts: http://co-opbookstore.ca.
We’ve also got The Word over by McGill, and lots of the independent places I used to go to have closed, so I hope these two will survive!
Denver Colorado has a fantastic bookstore name “The Tattered Bookcover”. It is phenomenal, I go there to get foreign language magazines.
Colorado Springs has “Poor Richards Bookstore” and also a small independant named “Black Cat Books” which even has wine tastings.
let’s not forget the very best in Chicago,
located in Andersonville – Women and Children
First! not only do they have a marvelous selection of books from all genres but also a variety of cards, tapes, children’s books, and they also have author’s read from their books and a variety of other programs. it’s been some time since i’ve been there since i moved from Chicago but i trust it’s still there and going strong.
My two favorite indie bookshops of all time are in Northeast Ohio — The Learned Owl in Hudson (http://www.learnedowl.com/) and Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cleveland at Legacy Village (http://www.josephbeth.com/)
My fave bookstore of all time is Books of Yesteryear in Logan, Utah. It’s a two-story, very old building stuffed with new books and better yet books and photo albums and yearbooks from estate sales over the last 40 years! Looking at a high school yearbook from 1920 is just fascinating. If you ever get to Utah then make your way to Logan and check this place out.
Sundance Books, Reno, Nevada. Not big, but the selection is great, heavy on local stuff and the staff is the best! New, used, music, coffee. Love ‘em!
Here in Victoria, BC (Canada) we have a couple of excellent indie bookstores that give the corporate giants a run for their money; Munro’s (http://www.munrobooks.com/) and Bolen Books (http://www.bolen.bc.ca/).
Sidney, the town up the highway near the ferry terminal, is becoming a renowned tourist destination (dare I say book-lovers Mecca?) just for all the book stores on the main drag.
http://www.sidneybooktown.ca/
Book Rack here in Rock Hill, SC. Used and new. They have five plus tractor trailers sitting behind the store just packed with used books–hard and soft covers. That’s where I go to try out authors and fill in the gaps of my collections.
Earthling Bookstore on State Street in Santa Barbara, CA had endless stacks of books, comfortable floors, a small cafe, and a lovely fireplace in the center of the space. Greatly missed, and replaced by a chain sporting goods store.
Garcia Street Books in Santa Fe, New Mexico is an amazing independently owned bookstore. We go there every time we go to Santa Fe.
Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City, Iowa is legendary. Because Iowa City is the location of the famed Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Prairie Lights hosts an incredible schedule of readings from visiting authors — these are also broadcast on Wisconsin Public Radio as “Live from Prairie Lights.” Given the strong literary traditions of the community, the selection of literary magazines, fiction and poetry is impressive.
I’d also recommend A Room of One’s Own in Madison, Wisconsin. This has its roots in feminism and has a very strong tradition of serving the gay, lesbian and transgender community. However, as other indies in Madison have gone under, AROOO has broadened their selection to serve a more general literary audience. The owner is a strong proponent of independent bookstores and has been a leader in the association for independents. AROOO operates as a non-profit and really needs support, or we may lose it as well.
I encourage all to shop at the indies and purchase Book Sense coupons as gifts, so that recipients can support the independent bookstores where they live. We have lost something irreplaceable if they fade away…and so many already have.
Living in Ann Arbor, the headquarters of Borders, visiting the Borders is not hard to do, and I go there fairly often. Downtown Ann Arbor also has several independent and used book stores.
This past Christmas I trudged through downtown through snow and freezing wind looking for books as gifts for my daughter. I often go to the Dawn Treader bookstore, which is just down the street from the Borders, but this time Dave’s was where I found the batch of books that fit her fiction tastes.
Just found this gorgeous collection of bookstore photos; wanted to share:
http://www.miragebookmark.ch/most-interesting-bookstores.htm
And a column from the Washington Post’s Marc Fisher, on the closing of his local bookstore, with a call to end the no-sales tax policy on companies like Amazon:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2009/04/getting_vertigo_over_lost_busi.html