used books

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O’Gara & Wilson, Ltd. – Chicago, IL

September 17, 2011 in bookstore, used books by Kim | No comments

I noticed one of my favorite aromas five steps before I entered the store, Chicago’s oldest bookstore smells like aged paper and binding. O’Gara & Wilson has serious books.  This is a haven for academics, anyone researching specific topics, or collectors of antique books.  I noticed an extensive religion section, quite impressive actually.  Also, significant collections of music books, German books, and other collections in various languages.  As with all good used bookstores, the offerings may change over time as collections are purchased and added to the shelves.  O’Gara & Wilson look for and buy significant book collections, if you have one to sell, this would be a good place to start.  Not everything is serious, Keith found a stack of Popular Science magazines and bought two.  Decades ago each cost 25 cents, we paid $7.50 and $12.50 for each – don’t automatically throw out those magazines in your garage, they may be worth something.

This store wins the prize for oddest decor.  Immediately apparent is the buffalo head hanging over the center aisle.  Further back is a stuffed monk.  It’s a little creepy, but in an inviting way.  I was immediately drawn into the back of the store to figure out if the statute was a witch, a monk, made out of wax or wood, was it holiday decor or permanent?  The clerk explained that when the Museum of Science and Industry was refurbished, the inscribing monk didn’t make the cut and was headed for the trash heap.  In swooped the owner to save the monk and give him a second life as guardian of the stacks.

Founded in 1882, the store has a nice history of passing from one owner to the next.  Wilson was an apprentice to O’Gara and eventually became the owner of the store.  I asked the clerk if he was next in line, he chuckled and refused to commit.

O’Gara & Wilson

1448 E. 57th Street

Chicago, IL 60637

T:  773.363.0993

 

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Books by the Bay – North Bend, OR

September 13, 2011 in bookstore, used books by Kim | No comments

Beautiful view of Coos Bay from North Bend, OR

I effectively had a seven hour “lay over.”  My plane arrived in the little town of North Bend, OR at 8AM (I flew in with the Governor of Oregon, nice to see him flying commercial and working the entire flight), but Keith and Kyle didn’t arrive until 5PM.  What to do?  Set up shop in a bookstore, of course.  This is a real small town, in the sense that it isn’t a tourist town made cute for visitors.  These people live and work here, and they visit their bookstore.  Books by the Bay is a used bookstore with lovely coffee shop.  I was reading The Brothers Karamazov and was just starting the Grand Inquisitor section so I settled down with some great coffee and quiche while eavesdropping on the tables around me.

Many of the books are mass market paperbacks at great prices.  As with many used bookstores, there’s a wide selection of romance and mysteries.  However, every genre is available from history to non-fiction to young adult to literature.  I was impressed by the support for local authors.  These books were prominently displayed at the front of the store.  Readings and signings are held along with books clubs.

It is an inviting environment.  This isn’t the musty used bookstore that entices a treasure hunt.  Books by the Bay is bright, airy, and nicely organized.  The books may be a bit worn, but the surroundings are not.

Books by the Bay is a place for readers.  In the couple of hours that I camped out in the coffee shop, I heard an intense discussion about a novel that would put any book group to shame.  These women picked apart every character and plot device.  One of the local authors dropped by to chat and check on his books.  The people at the table behind me discussed books and travel plans while looking for books about their trip.  Everyone knew someone in the cafe.  No one entered without stopping to say hi to a friend.  Books by the Bay is the epitome of the community bookstore.  Even for strangers like myself, it’s a lovely place to spend a morning.

Books by the Bay

1875 Sherman Ave.

North Bend, OR 97459

T:  541.756.1215

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Harvard Book Store – Cambridge, MA

July 20, 2011 in bookstore, used books by Kim | 4 comments

It is an odd looking machine

I’d been looking forward to visiting this venerable bookstore for years.  While not as flashy as the Coop down the street, Harvard Book Store is what an independent bookstore is all about.  The atmosphere is cozy and dripping with a love for literature.  While the only thing I heard the staff (really, just cashiers) say at the Coop was “NEXT,” at Harvard Book Store everyone was chatting about books.  I had a long conversation about Sarah Vowell’s visit.  I had just missed it, but the staff was willing to fill me in on it and direct me to a podcast on the website.  (The store hosts numerous author events, it’s one of the standard stops on an author tour.)

After reading about the Gutenborg machine several times, I was excited to see it in action.  Harvard Book Store has one of the few in the nation, thus far, and it looks like a laptop with a very, very big printer attached.  It’s a a little endearing in an R2D2 kind of way.  The machine runs about 10 hours a day, sometimes printing from the Google backlist but frequently printing self-published books.  Sometimes local histories, sometimes papers and topics from Harvard students and professors, but also books that have been picked up by publishers.  I overheard a conversation from the staff that some of the self-published books are quite good, that the knee jerk reaction that all of them are not the same quality as traditionally published books will be changing.  This especially could be true as established writers may be able to make more from self-publishing than from their big houses.  It made me stop and think about taking a better look at self-published books.

Harvard Book Store offers all the latest new books worthy of your time, plus a nice array of used books.  Any fiction you may want is available.  As with many university book stores, there is a strong selection of non-fiction genres in both new and used books.  Even better, the store supports the publications authored by the Harvard professors, and with that brain power, the reader is guaranteed to find interesting reads.  Pick up some Harvard garb at the store and look the part while reading the latest school masterpiece.

While I didn’t notice a display of Author Recommendations in the store (it may be there), check out this link online, several authors name the books he or she recommends.  I immediately looked to see what David Sedaris and David Mitchell liked, odds are good I’ll enjoy their favorites.

And if all that book shopping builds an appetite, head next door to Mr. Bartley’s for the best burgers in town.

Harvard Book Store

1256 Massachusetts Ave.

Cambridge, MA 02138

Tel:  617.661.1515

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Kepler’s Books – Menlo Park, CA

July 17, 2011 in bookstore, childrens, used books, young adult by Kim | No comments

As we walked into Kepler’s Books I told Kelsey, “I’ll buy you one paperback book.”  I picked up its The Indie Reader at the front door to read over brunch at the store cafe before shopping.  That was an expensive decision.

The Indie Reader is quite impressive.  Twenty pages of book suggestions and event schedules, there was practically a book on every page that sounded fascinating.  Kepler’s is certainly a player in the ebook age, many of the books in newspaper had a QR code, just scan the code and download the book.  The newspaper also directed readers to Kepler’s other social networking endeavors, three blogs (one for teens, one for writers and another for everyone else) and a Facebook page.  Anyone who still believes bookstores are remnants of a bygone era needs to stop by here.  Efforts to create a community aren’t limited to the internet.  The newspaper highlights the store’s Literary Circle Membership, a group of people willing to put their reading money to good use.  A variety of membership levels offer members discounts, rewards and special access to author events.  It’s perfect for anyone who wants to participate in the active literary scene at Kepler’s.

Does the store back up the image in The Indie Reader?  Absolutely!  It’s a spacious full service store with plenty of stock.  I appreciated the bulk of reading recommendations for kids and teens up front, Kelsey was absorbed from the moment we walked in.  The literary fiction section winds down the length of a large wall, ending in a shelf dedicated to Europa books.  I always find book group shelves interesting, it’s a way to keep up with what many people are reading around the country.  Here, it’s a delight.  A whole row of shelves is given over to dozens and dozens of book groups, some with clever names like “Hotties” or “1961″ (the year the group started, I had to ask).  The non-fiction and genre sections are just as extensive, this is a store where odds are good you’ll find what you need.  There are used books also, not a huge section but definitely some good choices.  Moreover, Kepler’s has an extensive selection of magazines, one area of the bookstores that is getting harder to find.

After meandering for quite awhile, Kelsey found me with two books she had to read.  After reading about them in The Indie Reader I wanted them too and so as I paid for the two hardbacks, I told the cashier “I came in here saying only one paperback.”  He looked at Kelsey and said “well done.”

Kepler’s Books

1010 El Camino Real

Menlo Park, CA 94025

Tel:  650.324.4321

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Primrose Hill Books – London, UK

June 29, 2011 in bookstore, used books by Kim | No comments

Guest Post from Josh Stephens

Josh Stephens is the editor of the California Planning & Development Report, a newsletter covering urban planning and land use. When he is not writing, he is a college counselor and freelance journalist. And when he’s not maintaining journalistic and academic objectivity, he enjoys places designed for humans rather than for unbridled commerce.  Josh is assisting my son with his college essays and I have to say we learned more from him in an hour than we gathered from several college tours and talks and time with our own college counselor.  Love the store he describes and how much it means to him.  He also has an understanding of the independent bookstore world, check out his book review of Big Box Swindle.

Primrose Hill Books

Some years back I was corresponding with a wonderfully erudite woman named Eleanor. After braving a bedrizzled crossing of Regent’s Park I arrived at my friend’s flat and composed an email to her:

“Speaking of bookstores, I made a delightful find today: Primrose Hill Book Shop.  The whole store is about the size of a dining+living room, but somehow every book seemed worth buying.  I told the owner that she had a better selection than Barnes and Noble, and I meant it. It made me wonder why people are so eager to suffer those enormous stores when every neighborhood could instead have its own little Primrose Books replete with carefully chosen titles.”

While I took Eleanor on her first virtual visit to Primrose Hill through e-mail, mine own first visit had taken place years ago, when most reading still involved books and not computer screens. At age 10 I knew it as the place from which Pongo, Missis Pongo, and their 15 puppies disappeared—and to which they returned with 84 more. At that age I don’t think I considered whether Dodie Smith had set her story in real place or not.

But on that July afternoon, I found a little high street that, true to its name, overlooks Regent’s Park from a modest rise. It was exactly the sort of a place where mother or father might stroll, pushing a pram with one hand and restraining a full-of-beans firehouse dog with the other.

In the middle of this happy scene sits the blue and white face of Primrose Hill Books.

Orderly without being stuffy, and small without being cramped, Primrose Hill Books strikes an expert balance between endearing and twee, erudite and snobbish. For me, it confirmed London as a place of understatement and refinement. And, as I told Eleanor, its restraint—by not trying to be all things to all customers—reminded me that a small selection, chosen by people who care, surpasses any arrangement in which mere commercial pwroducts, printed and bound so they look like books, are allowed to overwhelm works of art and genius.

I cannot recall whether I saw The One Hundred and One Dalmatians among its titles. But I’m sure it was there somewhere, waiting for a nice family to come by and add it to their collection.

Primrose Hill Books

134 Regent’s Park Rd.

London NW 18XL

Tel:  020 7586 2022

 

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