Claire and I wanted to stop by Skylight Books for the last 10 months, but Los Angeles is large, traffic is tough, and it is just out of reach for us on a normal day. When I heard that the store was open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays through August, I thought what a perfect way to end an evening! After a dinner out with friends, Keith and I arrived at 10:30 to find the sidewalks on Vermont Avenue packed and the restaurants overflowing. It looked like a New York street scene. Walking in the store, an employee welcomed us with the choice of lemonade or a martini, I took a couple of olives.
Skylight Books bucked the bookstore trend last year and expanded into a new space, just in time for the recession. The additional space is contains art books, an extensive drama section, architecture and design, music books, photography, and graphic novels. All in all, it’s doing quite well. In keeping with the entertainment theme of this space, a live DJ played music and other late Friday and Saturday nights a band performed for the customers.
The expanded space isn’t connected to the original store, but you can still carry books back and forth, just grab an employee to go with you. Emily escorted me because I was looking for her new favorite book/graphic novel, Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli for Claire. (FYI, I can’t wait to see what Claire thinks of this graphic novel, it appears to be a new chapter in the genre.) I asked about the shelf talkers I saw throughout the fiction section stating only “GLBT friendly.” No review, no explanation, just colorful tags. Emily explained the opinion that putting GLBT literature on separate shelves could be “ghettoizing” the books. I asked what made a book “GLBT” friendly, did it have to deal with sexuality, did a character have to be GLBT, or the author? It seemed that the books at least noted the GLBT world existed without necessarily having to make a statement. Sales for the books have gone up since they incorporated them into the fiction shelves. I wondered if it was because straight people like me were more aware of them and buying them, but they don’t really know who is more likely to buy the books now that the genres are melded.
The original store is full of interesting choices. There is a significant local section, something I’m seeing more frequently in Los Angeles bookstores. Thankfully, they shelve various current and classic books, not just stacks of The Day of the Locust. I particularly loved the end caps with unique topics, my favorite was a selection of books on the history of things, not events or people, but things, such as babysitting. Who knew there was such a history? Although I wonder how many people truly care, it is a lark to think about when wandering around a bookstore.
Skylight Books is the neighborhood bookstore I dream of having close by, lively (people were dancing in the aisles at 11PM), a large and diverse selection, booksellers who knew their stock and who wanted to be with the customers. It doesn’t get much better.
1818 N. Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
T: 323.660.1175
F: 323.660.0232
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I’d fallen behind on my Google Reader (where I usually follow your blog), and was finally catching up when I found this post about our store! You certainly came on a good night, and I’m glad we got to chat. Thanks for making us look so good! Take care, say hi the next time you’re around.
Thanks again,
Emily
Ordering Manager -
Thank you Emily! I’m hoping to attend the Saturday Salon this month. Claire absolutely loved Asterios Polyp and will be writing about it soon.
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