Giving Used Books A New Life
I felt the eclectic, cool vibe at {open} from the moment I walked in. The front foyer holds a collection of old communication items: typewriters (really old, the kind where the keys jammed together if you typed too fast), a dial phone (I explained to Kelsey that phone numbers with zeros were irritating because you had to wait for the dial to go all the way back to zero), real record players, and cameras that weigh more than the modern laptop. The space opens up into bookshelves full of used books with a music section in the back and artwork along the walls.
I spent quite awhile wandering through the shelves because they were inviting. I talked with one of the owners, Shea Gauer, about his book buying philosophy and the books on the shelves are chosen for their subject matter and their aesthetic appeal (the rest are donated to a thrift store). It works, the look of the bookshelves pulled me in, I wanted to examine every spine on the shelf. My idea of a good used bookstore is one where I trip on books that surprise me. Some books are more appealing when they’re a little worn. For me, it was an Old Modern Library edition of The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams. If I saw the same book on my grandmother’s shelves, I wonder if I would be as interested in it? Probably not, but that’s the beauty of a used bookstore, they make old things appealing again. {open} has beautiful complete sets of books including Winston Churchill’s works, Balzac’s writings, and O.Henry’s stories. There is children’s section with original Nancy Drew and Bobsey Twins books. Unfortunately, my kids are still in the new and flashy stage, worn cozy books aren’t quite as appealing to them, yet.
{open} also recycles old books in a unique way giving then a new life. When Shea finds a book with a nice cover and maybe an interesting illustration but really no sellling appeal onesoever, he cuts off the front and back cover, the title page, maybe a few other pages, adds blank sheets, binds them all together and the resulting journal is truly unique. We bought one, but I think I’ll drop back there for some fun Christmas gifts.
Music the Old Fashioned Way
As I wandered through the shelves, a young couple was deciding which record albums to buy. Not CDs, the real 33 rpm record albums. {open} has two turntables, truly nice ones, and headphones to listen to the albums before buying them. This couple sampled various works by the LA Phi from decades ago and settled on a recording of the L.A. Phil playing gypsy music, who knew! {open} holds regular music concerts and performance art events, it helps bring in extra foot traffic.
Everyone is an Artist
Our joint decorating effort!
In addition to showing artists work on the walls, {open} is creating its own installation piece. In honor of its 5th anniversary, patrons can buy one sheet of an old thesaurus for $5 or of an old encyclopedia for $50 and decorate it. The sheets are hung on the wall behind the cash register and when the wall is full, the sheets will be bound into a book. Kelsey and I picked the thesaurus page containing “book” and brought it home to decorate. Our design includes a bit of Kelsey’s fashionista sense and a few of our favorite books (The Hunger Games for Kelsey, Atonement for me, and The Bible for both of us). You can order your own sheet, decorate it and be a published artist also!
{open] is part of “Retro Row” on 4th Street in Long Beach. There are used furniture stores, coffee shops and art galleries, it’s a nice place to meander for an afternoon.
2226 E. 4th St.
Long Beach, CA 90814
T: 562.499.OPEN
Tags: art gallery, California, California bookstore, Long Beach, Long Beach bookstore, performance space, used books, used records
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Love their name…and your beautiful page!
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Thanks for the lovely review! And your page is gorgeous … we can’t wait to add it to the wall!
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Thank you so much for the compliments on our page. I was in charge of gluing.
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