A bookstore transforms itself at the New Year
Much as I loved to write at an early age, I never considered becoming any kind of a reporter because I hate talking to strangers. (I could never become a talk show host, either, I guess). That neurotic problem of mine definitely affects the way I judge bookstores: Kim chats up the owners and gets all the back story, while I lurk and shop. (I have been known to ask questions, but the story has to be empty and the shopowner amiable.)
I approach new stores from a different angle. At any given moment, I’m usually obsessed with a specific writer or subject, and will, when I walk into a new bookstore, check out their offerings in that particular interest. I figure it’s like random polling: it gives me a quick idea of how good their overall selection is. (Of course, that doesn’t work on specialty stores–I wouldn’t walk into a cookbook store looking for a graphic novel.)
So when my family and I walked the several blocks from one of our favorite places on earth–The Bone Room in Berkeley–to a bookstore we vaguely remembered was up the street, I knew what I was going to look for. Pegasus Books offers a mixture of new and used books, separated out so you know what you’re getting and can, say, buy that new bestseller for a friend’s birthday gift, then go look for something to read for yourself in the used section.
I’m happy to say that Pegasus totally came through for me that day: I was working my way through Alex Robinson’s graphic novels and had just finished one. Since we were on vacation, I was enjoying spending my evenings curled up with a book (no laundry to fold! no homework to help with!) and was desperate for another. And Pegasus had exactly what I wanted. It felt like winning (an admittedly small-potted) lottery. I mean, I wasn’t looking for a Tom Clancy novel–this was a graphic novel published by a small press. I found some other things I wanted–all used, and therefore discounted–and my eight-year-old son was thrilled to find a used collection of Thor comics.
I could have spent all day in that store: the selection was varied and eclectic with a lot of good deals in the used book sections. It’s a beautiful, spacious store with a lot of room to stand and leaf through books. Unfortunately, we were due to meet friends back at the Bone Room so the rest of the family left while Will and I bought our books.
Now was the time to chat a little bit–my fear of talking to strangers soothed by the familiar interaction of exchanging money for goods–and I found out that Pegasus is actually a mini-chain: there are two of them in Berkeley (we later passed the second one on our way to lunch) and a sister Pendragon store in Oakland.
I also discovered that some of the open feeling of the store that day was due to the fact they were starting to clear off some of the books and move some of the bookshelves out of the way for a big New Year’s Day event: their annual calendar sale. Every year on New Year’s morning, they put out a huge assortment of the new year’s calendars at a discounted price (1 for $3.99 or 3 for $10). Their stores are almost entirely given over to the calendar sale for several days–apparently there’s a line of people waiting for them to open their doors that first morning.
Another customer–clearly a regular–stuck his head into our conversation at this point and said, “Yeah, well, I just wait for it go back to being a normal bookstore again–that’s what I like.” No argument here: I love a good bookstore. But if a lucrative calendar sale helps any independent bookstore stay in business, I’m all in favor of it. Especially if I could zip in and buy my calendars without talking to a single stranger . . .
Pegasus Fine Books
1855 Solano Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94707
510.525.6888
(Fax)510.525.1646
admin@pegasusbookstore.com
Tags: Berkeley, Berkeley bookstore, calendar, California, California bookstore, San Francisco, San Francisco bookstore, used books
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