By 'bookstores', I mean real, independent, locally owned bookstores that had their own distinct personality. NOT huge national chain homogenous bookstores that are all basically exactly alike. I do shop at these now, mostly because they are the only ones around so it is B&N or Borders, or nothing at all. And yes, I have certainly bought (and sold) my share of books from online retailers. But for browsing pleasure, there is (or was) nothing like the old kind of bookstore. Three in particular stand out in my mind.
I discovered Atlanta's Oxford Books while I was an undergrad at Georgia Tech. The original location, up the road from Tech in the Peachtree Battle Shopping Center, was always a fun place to visit. Large in the way bookstores seldom were before the Big Box Bookstores showed up and skewed everyone's expectations, it even served coffee and pastries. This was before those items became ubiquitous in bookstores, so it was somewhat of a novelty. Cramped aisles crammed full of every kind of book you can imagine, it was a browser's paradise. It got even better when they relocated to an old car dealership in Buckhead. Miles and miles of books, magazines, cards, posters, music... you name it. They had a better selection of sheet music than most music stores. Huge non-fiction section in tons of categories, loads of fiction, plenty of room for browsing and hanging out, lots of windows, and an open, spacious layout - ahhhh. Best 'new books' bookstore EVER. Unfortunately for all Atlantans, it did not weather the coming of the B&N and Borders megastores well, and went belly up. It is a shame. Those bland megabooksellers don't hold a candle to the Oxford experience, in atmosphere or selection.
Oxford Books had a sister store for used books: Oxford Too. It was located in an old house around the corner from the original Oxford shop. Oxford Too had an excellent selection of used books, and also sold discounted new books (remainders and such). I can still remember the library smell and the creaky hardwood floors. They had a great collection of used science fiction. I spent many happy hours at Oxford Too, browsing and reading. I still have some of the used paperbacks I purchased there.
Years later when I lived in Massachusetts, a friend introduced me to Avenue Victor Hugo on Newbury Street in Boston. What a great place! It was in an old brownstone, and the bookshelves were all crowded into it. Navigating that store was a challenge! The shelves lined every wall floor to ceiling and formed an intricate maze in the rooms. Stepstools and ladders were necessary items, and just added to the clutter. There was an upstairs section that was even more convoluted and cramped, and they had a fantastic selection of rare books. This shop had a lot of quirky character, and even hosted a resident cat. It was always fun to shop there, and you never knew what kind of gems you'd find. AVH closed the Newbury Street store forever in 2004, but survives today as an internet bookseller. Not the same, though. Not at all.
10 comments:
I hadn't thought of the "Oxfords" in years. Bittersweet memories. I'd go in once a month or so and hit both Peachtree stores for an hour or so. Often, I didn't buy, just absorbed. Maybe I should have spent more money and we'd still have them.
I probably spent enough for both of us.
I miss Oxford books, too. I got to meet Anne Rice there back in the 90's. Damn you Barnes and Noble! Damn you to hell!
We used to have a cool used bookstore here called the Rainbow Book Exchange. The woman who ran it was about 120 years old, and she would keep account of books you brought in on little scraps of paper. It was the coolest place. I would spend hours in there searching through every book. She went out of business a few years ago. It was just as well, cuz she doesn't have many years left.
Hard to believe Atlanta can't support a good independent bookstore.
In Nashville we have Bookman, one of thos cool old places which has narrow aisles flanked by old wooden bookshelves groaning to capacity with just about anything you can imagine. We also have Davis-Kidd, an independent that's grown into a big suburban mall location that has a lot of the characteristics of a big box store. Yet they carry many titles that Barnes & Noble and Borders won't touch.
Another of my favorite Nashville locations is The Great Escape, primarily a used record store, but they also have books, comics, games, and lots of miscellaneous stuff. It's one of those places where you never know what you'll find there.
I'm not sure there are any independent bookstores left in the Detroit area. Lots of used bookstores, but the only independent one we had here in Dearborn closed a year or so ago. It wasn't the best for books, but it was THE PLACE to go for magazines and out of town newspapers. Borders started here in Michigan (Ann Arbor) as an independent bookstore, so I feel like I'm supporting them when I buy there. I remember when it was still just a couple of stores, it was so cool because they had so many books, including ones in Spanish when you couldn't even get Don Quixote in English at the local B&N (when they were still small and in malls).
I love browsing through used bookstores and there's a massive one downtown called John K. King Books...sadly, I've never been there, but I'm afraid I'd get lost as it's many floors.
I see what you mean, now, Fermicat, from the post you left on my blog.
We're lucky here in NYC, but the independents are taking a hit anyway. We've got the Strand, of course, and a lot of smaller places, especially in Lower Manhattan. Out in Queens, it's pretty skint, with just bigger bookstores (maybe I just never found the smaller places). But Brooklyn's lucky, they've got indie bookstores.
Then there are the guys who just sell books on the streets. Usually just used books, but there are the bootlegs, or the guys who're selling stuff that probably fell of the back of a truck. What I like about it, though, is that it's a healthy economy. I know it sucks that these guys are ripping off authors in a way, but the demand is there, and that is good. Right?
We have one independent bookstore in town called Plains Trading Co. The owner has it set up with small booths for other businesses too, such as a local painter and a woman who sell jellies. He is an avid book lover, so he is always very helpful when I go in there. Sometimes, he lets me borrow promotional copies of the latest books, since I'm too broke to spend every penny on books. Great customer relations.
Just re-read my post..."it HAS many floors." You'd think I'd learn to proofread before hitting Submit.
I'd love to visit all the bookshops that you described here. *sigh* Glad to know that the cool independent booksellers aren't all out of business.
Post a Comment