Bart’s Books of Ojai
For years I’ve wanted to attend the Ojai Music Festival, an extravaganza of classical music the first weekend in June every year. This year it finally happened and in between the day and evening concerts, I dashed to Bart’s Books, a used bookstore I last visited 19 years ago and one that Claire wrote about a few years back. It’s better than I remembered.
This has to be one of the best used bookstores in the nation. (I’d love to hear of any you think could top it, or even compete.) It’s certainly unique in that it’s mostly outdoors. The store was a residence and now every foot of the property is used for the bookstore. A few sections are located inside the former home: rare books, first editions, the few shelves of new books and, of course, cookbooks reside in the former kitchen. There is a separate room for art books (I still have the multi-volume Canady art history survey I purchased 19 years ago). If you wander past the fiction, then through the science fiction, you’ll find a room dedicated to literature and poetry. It can feel a bit like treasure hunt with the best surprise of all at the end, a room full of wonderful books. The rest of the shelves and the great majority of the books are all outside. The flooring is meticulously swept concrete, there are numerous tables and chairs scattered amongst the shelves, and classical music quietly plays. Every type of book that you can imagine is available, this is a bibliophile’s wonderland. Our own Southern California version of Hay-on-Wye.
The store began in 1964 as a book exchange on the front lawn and developed over time. Almost all of the books are under some sort of overhang, so unless it is a fierce driving rain, the booksellers wait out the storms at the cash register. It’s sun damage that is the biggest problem and there were certainly a couple sections where every binding is bleached white.
The first stop should be the ‘recommended shelves’ to the right of the cashier. These few shelves contain the books the staff finds most appealing when unpacking donated books or when cleaning out shelves in the store. Next, head for the first editions inside, many of these treasures are gorgeous books at reasonable prices. One of the speakers at an Ojai Music Festival Symposium mentioned he bought a Willa Cather first edition for $25, then added that Bart’s Books is a great store. After that feast on your choices! You could easily spend hours here. If you get a little tired, ask the bookseller to help you make a cup of coffee from the community espresso machine and then relax on the patio until you’re rejuvenated. Keep your eyes open, who knows who’ll you run into, I literally bumped into Peter Sellers (the opera director, not the actor) in the fiction section. I tried to see the title of the four books he was hauling around, but feared looking obnoxious.
302 West Matlija St.
Ojai, CA 9302
Tel: 805.646.3755
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Sounds amazing – though I imagine Powell’s could compete for the title of best.
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