I love to read, but sometimes it’s a drag going to the big bookstores. I love the quaint feel of smaller local store so much more. I live in Raleigh, NC and we have some incredible stores. You get a lot more help and personal attention I feel. Also, in smaller stores, they tend to have rare and older used books which on their own have charm and a cheaper price

Here are a few of my reviews on some in my area.

Dancing Moon is a really sweet store. What’s great about this store is that they also have a great audio and video selection. Its a pretty cool store because they also offer spiritual healing and massage by appointment. They have rooms for rent for book clubs and classroom type environment. It has an amazing vibe and excellent selection.

My second recommendation is Quail Ridge Books and Music. Again, it’s an amazing store but what’s different about this store is that they also host events and bring in different authors, artists, and speakers. This is great if you want that small town feel of sitting at a warm bookstore and hearing your favorite author speak. Not to mention that on occasion they have wine tasting. LOVE IT!

Now, if your looking for textbooks I have the place for you. It can get super expensive if you go to a bigger chain and most of them don’t have exactly what you need.  So for this I will recommend two of them. First is Edward Mckay Used Books with four locations in North Carolina. They have a huge selection of text books and the prices are more then reasonable.  Another great store for textbooks is Hillsborough Street Textbooks. Great store and they have extended fall semester hours and are very helpful.

Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, researching areas of online education. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

And then I visited my son in Iowa City.

The University of Iowa has a world famous writers’ workshop, a two-year program that culminates in a Master’s of Fine Arts.  It’s spawned a ton of famous authors, including John Irving and Jane Smiley.  Earlier this year, I discovered that they also have a summer high school program.  My son applied, got in, went for two weeks, and needed to be picked up at the beginning of July.  My husband had already made plans to get him (and to spend the weekend with him in Chicago).  I suddenly realized I wanted to go too.  An extra plane ticket was purchased, my son was left in the dark so I could surprise him, and the next thing I knew I was popping a Sonata on a red-eye and waking up in Chicago.

We drove the four hours to Iowa City.  It was appropriately hot but not too hot (I was told we were lucky in that last part).  After we’d greeted our son and met some of the faculty and students, Johnny suggested we walk into town so he could show us his favorite coffee shop.

Now, you have to understand that the bulk of my writing has always been done in coffee shops.  Mostly Starbucks because there’s one every two feet on the west side of LA and they let you sit as long as you want.  But I’ve always yearned for something a little warmer, a little quirkier, a little more historical.

The Java House is the coffee shop of my dreams.  Johnny knew it too.  As we walked in, he said, “You have to see the back room, Mom.  You would so kill to work there.”  He was right. I would.  You buy your coffee up front, each cup brewed fresh to order in individual mugs set under pictures of famous authors who studied or worked in Iowa, so the barrista can just tell you, “Number three: Ann Patchett” or whatever.  Then you grab your coffee when the mug is full.

Anyway, we got our drinks and Johnny led us toward the back room and gestured through the doorway.  I gazed. I looked.  I sighed.  I murmured a heartfelt, “I wish I had my laptop!”  I could have settled in there for the rest of the weekend.  It was dark and cozy, but surprisingly large, with tons of wooden tables and good chairs.  Everyone in there was writing.  Everyone.  There were more MacBooks than at an Apple Store.  It felt like Home.

But we were only in Iowa for an hour or so, so we stayed just long enough to drink the excellent coffee (Johnny had something more exotic–some kind of fizzy almond drink, if I remember correctly).  There was one more place I wanted to go before we left the pretty little downtown and that, of course, was a bookstore.

Prairie Lights is an Important Bookstore because of its proximity to the University of Iowa and all the famous and brilliant authors who come there to speak or teach.  It is, as you’d suspect, largely dedicated to fiction.  It’s a beautiful store, several stories high, welcoming and airy.  Nothing is crammed in.  There’s space for each book to be displayed, found, leafed through.  They have their own coffee shop–not that we had any bladder space left for more coffee at that point–and plenty of room to host readings and lectures which they do on a regular basis.   Check out the Live from Prairie Lights series, which you can watch streamed live on the ‘net if you don’t have the good luck to go to Iowa.

All this within a one block radius.   You can see why I was ready to pack up and move to Iowa City.  I’m having a little bit of trouble convincing Rob he should quit his job and uproot the whole family for the sake of a coffee shop and bookstore, but I’ll keep working on it.   Kim understands, don’t you, Kim?

Prairie Lights

15 South Dubuque St.

Iowa City, IA 52240

319-337-2681

800-295-BOOK

The Java House

150 Stevens Drive, Iowa City, IA

t: 319.354.2111 ext. 105; f: 319.354.7314

Once again our friend Laura Sanderson Healy is contributing a review and we’re so grateful to her.  If you haven’t yet read her earlier review, click here.  The rest is her writing.

Calling all Bodhisattvas: enlightenment by the multiple armload awaitsyou at The Bodhi Tree in Los Angeles, a spiritual bookstore beyond compare (though Zen practitioners might tut-tut that comparisons are odious). Since 1970 the Bodhi Tree has been the MRI-strength magnet on Melrose Avenue for seekers of all sorts, whether one is hunting down books on Eastern gurus like H.P. Blavatsky or G.I. Gurdjieff or Western psychics like Edgar Cayce. Books about God or gods/goddesses (and their nemeses), manuals on physical health and wellness, cures and treatments, and self-help titles for those who find themselves on mental or chemical obstacle courses, all find space, as do all the religions, good and — verdict’s out. The store presents all the
theories without passing judgment, according to its literature.

Though it caters to the mind/body/spirit crowd, carefree shoppers also
drift in to browse the esoteric goodies: bumper stickers, puppets,
children’s books and magazines (I always buy Highlights for Kids here
for my young nephew), cards, calendars, windchimes and gongs, candles,
music CDs and and buckets of malas (meditation’s answer to rosary
beads). Siddhartha Gautuma became the Buddha while sitting beneath a
bodhi tree on a Ganges tributary, and the store has its very own “Tree
of Enlightenment” (ficus religiosa) growing right behind the store in a
courtyard, having been nursed from a young potted plant in the store’s
stained -glass decorated front window decades ago.

“The Bodhi Tree is a metaphysical smorgasbord,” its cashier laughed to
a customer when I visited recently, “but be careful or you might get
indigestion.” You needn’t be a bearded mystic to love the place; even
before I made Los Angeles my home I made regular pilgrimages to the
Bodhi Tree over the years to soak up the atmosphere (though its incense
is as pervasive as that of Christian “High Churches”). Posers might
announce they go to the Bodhi Tree for karma roadchecks, but I’m simply
there for book and gift browsing and to enjoy some Harriet-the-Spyesque
eavesdropping, consuming endless free cups of Celestial Seasonings’
“Tension Tamer” herbal tea. On a street better known for label-reading
fashion hunters, the funky old Bodhi Tree sits as a complex comprised
of three buildings: the New Book branch, a Used Bookstore (behind the
main building, it is entered off Westbourne and boasts a resident cat),
and The Annex where events are held. While there are book signings by
notable authors, the most popular “readings” are those of the intuitive
variety: the Bodhi Tree Annex offers Psychic Readers every afternoon
and evening of the week, whether you prefer Tarot, Animal Divination,
Palmistry, Reiki or Astrology.

Though my own spirit is happiest out in nature, I reach a
particular Nirvana when I find a legal parking space near the Bodhi Tree because WeHo can be tricky for non-resident drivers. There are coin or key
meters on Melrose, there are a couple of spots behind the main store on
the property, but you may also valet park your car at the station
between the Annex and the Urth Café: the Bodhi Tree will credit the $5
valet charge towards any purchase over $15.

I enjoy my visit most when I have no demands on my time as I make my
way up the five steps up the stairs of the Melrose entrance. Once
inside, there are dozens of tuned Woodstock Chimes hanging in front of
the big round front window (with enormous fitted stained-glass art); as
one moves through the different rooms, skylights shed light and
colorful prayer flags and flying diva models decorate the ceiling.

Negotiating the hundreds of subjects from books on Christianity to the
Occult Sciences, one roams through a library-like maze of polished
wooden bookcases (some glass-fronted and locked). One author’s works
have to be housed in the office at the back up on a high rack due to
high theft occurrences (Hemingway’s MOVEABLE FEAST references this
fellow’s notoriety).

The Eastern side of the New Book Branch is dedicated to the teachers
and philosophers of the East, while the Western half of the store has
space for the writings of the Western Hemisphere’s wise men and women.
Paraphernalia such as bells and singing bowls hints at wicca and Native
American traditions, tools for yoginis are plentiful, and there are
glass cases of stones and and crystals for those who want to work on
their mojo (herbs are for sale in the Used Book wing).

One book I purchased at the Bodhi Tree is a perennial favorite: A Book
of Days for the Literary Year; there is a literature section for
non-fiction and fiction (Tom Wolfe but no Thomas Wolfe) and visionary
fiction (William Blake). The Spiritual Tourist by Mick Brown gave me
endless mirth as I read about various disciplines friends had described
to me; the accompanying CD of the same name features ethereal music
from spiritual traditions around the world and the Used Bookstore had a
copy of it my last visit. There are all sorts of books about weird
phenomena, though it all fits here and doesn’t seem like a Ripley’s
rip-off. And I’m a sucker for the Unexplained.

Bodhi Tree Bookstore
8585 Melrose Avenue,
West Hollywood CA 90069-5199
(800) 825-9798; within Los Angeles County call (310) 659-1733
Email: info@bodhitree.com

Laura Sanderson Healy is an L.A.-based writer; during her days as a
correspondent in PEOPLE WEEKLY’s London Bureau, she reported on strange phenomena such as the moving statue near Ballinspittle, Ireland, and the mysterious crop circles in Wiltshire, England. She believes in
ghosts and once took her father dowsing at the Rollright Stones near
Oxford.

A Long Island Bookstore

As you know, we love when readers contribute reviews of their favorite bookstores and the farther from LA they are, the better we like them.  Supportive and enthusiastic reader Meagan Cea lives in Huntington, New York and is a sophomore at Queens College in Flushing.  We’re very grateful to her for the following review.  The rest of this post is hers.

In this economy everyone is trying to pinch pennies. A surprising
and wonderful side effect is that, in the effort to save money, more
and more people are choosing books over movies and video games. But for
those with a real habit, reading isn’t necessarily cheaper at 15, 20,
sometimes 30 dollars a pop. That is, if you haven’t discovered a way to
feed your addiction.

Whenever people think of New York, they think of New York City,
Manhattan. It’s only natural. Yet in doing so they forget about another
wonderful little island: Long Island. If by chance you do remember Long
Island and find yourself out in Suffolk County, you just may stumble
upon Huntington Village. Huntington Village, also known as downtown
Huntington, is THE hot spot for any kind of entertainment you’re looking
for: restaurants, cafes, bars, a movie theater, even a jazz lounge. But
the best thing in town is of course, the bookstore.

The Book Revue is one of the few independent bookstores on the
island (there are fewer than twenty). Boasting two floors and 17, 500
square feet, the Book Revue is also one of the largest independent bookstores in the country. Although the decor is less than remarkable, it lacks the glossy feel of the major chain stores and has half a dozen chairs and couches scattered throughout the store, not including the large wooden
firetruck in the kids section. There’s even a small cafe in the sunniest corner of the store. Along with its many other accomplishments, the Book Revue is also a popular stop for book signings. Past visitors include Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Clinton, Neil Simon and Orson Scott Card, among many others.

But now to the very best and greatest feature: their discounts.

Unlike the many chain bookstores around, the Book Revue buys and
sells used books. With a little bit of effort, you can find good condition used books for anywhere between 12 dollars and 2. And that’s not even the best part. After a set of new books has been sitting on the shelves for a few months, untouched, the Book Revue has this wonderful little habit of moving them to the discount tables. As a result, at any time of year you can walk in and find six or eight tables of new books selling for 6 or 8 dollars a piece, sometimes even less! This of course does have the dangerous side effect of encouraging impulse buying in order to catch a sale, but I know I’M not going to complain.

Here’s to feeding the addiction.

BOOK REVUE
313 New York Avenue
Huntington, NY 11743
phone: 631.271.1442
fax: 631.271.5890

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The Catcher in the Rye. Harry Potter.

Every one of these books is a literary treasure, and yet as recently as 2008 these books have been challenged for “offensive language, racism, sexuality, and anti-religious viewpoints.” What if you and your kids couldn’t read about your favorite Wizard at the public library? Or your local high school banned Mark Twain from its curriculum?

This year, take a stand against censorship. Join the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the American Library Association (ALA) in celebrating Banned Books Week 2009. From September 26 to October 3, independent bookstores across the country can host events, displays, and speakers that promote anti-censorship and raise awareness about the reality of book banning in the United States.

Start preparing now. If you are a bookseller, you can host banned book readings, hang posters and sell T-shirts, or simply make a display about banned books and why it is necessary to preserve every person’s right to read. If you’re a reader, start educating yourself about banned books, if there have been challenges in your hometown, and how you can get your local independent bookstores involved.

For lists of banned books, display ideas, and “fREADom” product order forms, visit our website .  To register your store’s events and other resources, check out http://www.bannedbooksweek.org.

Whatever your involvement, take a stand–defend your right to read.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression is the bookseller’s voice in the fight against censorship. We oppose restrictions on the freedom of speech; issue statements on significant free expression controversies; participate in legal cases involving First Amendment rights; collaborate with other groups with an interest in free speech; and provide education about the importance of free expression.

When you live in Los Angeles, you get used to that feeling of urban anonymity wherever you go, but the first time I walked into the new Diesel Books in the Brentwood Country Mart, I glanced down at the guest list and immediately spotted the name of one of my closest friends just a few rows above where I was about to sign up for their email newsletter, and I suddenly felt like I lived in a small town.

Diesel just opened up a few months ago, less than five minutes from my house.   Locals like me who live near the Country Mart tend to go there regularly for their Reddi Chick fix, since they have the best rotisserie chicken and ribs in Brentwood.  (Also possibly the only rotisserie chicken and ribs in Brentwood.)  You order at their take-out counter, then sit outside in the courtyard, either close to the fire or far away from it depending on how warm it is.  (When it’s really warm, there’s no fire at all, of course.)

Reddi Chick has always been in the Country Mart (and by “always,” I mean as long as I’ve lived here), but more recently a Barney’s Burgers, a Frida Taqueria and a City Bakery (pretzel croissants, hallelujah!) have all set up shop there, too.   So you can now order a turkey burger or some enchiladas, take the beeper they give you, and go right on into Diesel Books while your food is being prepared.  Browsing away your waiting time–that’s just heavenly.  I used to feel like it took forever for my burger to cook and now it’s ready way too soon.

That’s because Diesel is my kind of bookstore: small, cozy, well-stocked and airy.   (Cozy and airy are not easy to achieve simultaneously but they manage it.)  There are two other Diesel bookstores, which makes it, I guess, a mini-chain, but in feel it’s pure Indie.  Maybe that’s because it doesn’t have that big chain store attitude of “put out the bestsellers and to hell with everything else.”  The “bestsellers” out by the front entrance are specific to the store, and not to the New York Times, so you can check out what other people in Brentwood are reading these days and either join in the fun or eschew it altogether.

They pride themselves–rightfully–on their art and cookbook collections which are impressive ones for such a small store.  I checked out the graphic novel section which had migrated from one visit to the next, so I had to ask where they had moved it (way down low as it turned out) and, again, they had an impressively wide range of interesting titles given their limited space.

The graphic novel section wasn’t the only part of the store to move around: sections and display tables were shifting a lot at Diesel for the first couple of months, but someone who worked there assured me that they’re pretty happy with the current lay-out and I think things will stay the way they are for a while, although they’re still getting a feel for the local community and are shaping their inventory to respond to people’s interests and needs.

Here’s my advice for them:  offer lots of books with pictures of hot, juicy hamburgers on the cover.  They’ll sell like hotcakes.  Or, you know, burgers.

Diesel Books
Brentwood Country Mart
225 26th Street, Suite 33
Santa Monica, CA 90402
310-576-9960
info@dieselbookstore.com

(also in Malibu and Oakland)

Maria at her booksigning at Explore

Growing up in LA, I went to grade school with the Anderson girls. (Celebrities to us, not because their mother, Katherine, was the daughter of Hollywood’s first celebrity couple, Irving Thalberg & Norma Sheerer, but because their father, Richard Anderson, played Oscar Goldman on The Six Million Dollar Man.) Katherine and Richard divorced; Katherine and her daughters moved to Aspen. She reported back that it was a jewel of a place and that she had opened a bookstore. My parents brought us to Aspen for the summer. We stayed for the school year. We never left.

Katherine Thalberg opened Explore Book Sellers in the early seventies in a rambling old Victorian on Hopkins Street and eventually moved it to a larger and even more rambling old Victorian on Main Street. Vivaldi, black-and-white triangular bookmarks, butterscotch candy by the register, tiny room-after-room so precariously crammed with books that you had to remove your parka and backpack to avoiding setting off an avalanche…. And, of course, Katherine, the handsome and serious owner behind the counter, peeking up from her glasses.

I spent lots of time at Explore. One of my favorite things was going to the fiction section, to the S’s, to imagine where my future novel would be shelved. Between JD Salinger and Mary Shelly? Between Sir Walter Scott and Upton Sinclair? Between James Salter and Robert Louis Stevenson?
In Aspen you know what kind of skiers people are. Katherine Thalberg had the best posture of any skier I had ever seen, and perfect form to match. That was Katherine: elegant, contained, formidable. She grew increasingly vocal about animal rights and added a vegetarian café to the upstairs of the book store. She married the mayor, Bill Stirling, who shared her passion for reading and animals. He almost got recalled when he and Katherine tried to ban the selling of fur in Aspen.

Long after I moved away, I got word that Katherine had passed away after a fight against cancer. Explore was put up for sale. There was talk that it would go out of business. Sam Wyly, the swift boat guy, ended up buying it. People in Aspen have strong feelings about that. I’m happy he did.

I love coming back to Aspen, and frequently do. Within twenty-four hours, I’m back at Explore. I dump my coat and backpack at the front door. Vivaldi plays. The black-and-white bookmarks are stacked on the front counter. Mayor Bill is introducing an author in the back room. Lynda and Dan, the new managers, both friends of mine, call out “Welcome back!” and are eager to catch up. But first, I go to the fiction room, the S’s. There it is, THIS ONE IS MINE, by Maria Semple. Between Will Self and Vikram Seth.

Katherine would have been proud.

Explore Book Sellers
221 East Main Street
Aspen, CO 81611
P. 970.925.5336
P. 800.562.READ (7323)

First, I’d like to take a moment to say a huge thank you to everyone who has linked to Kim’s brilliant independent bookstore challenge or written us to say what a great idea it is.  I’m with you: I think it’s a great idea and I’m so glad others are onboard.   Kim gets all the credit although I can take pride in the fact that I didn’t stand in her way.  (Well, I did say I was scared of the challenge, so maybe I did stand in her way a little bit, but it takes more than that to deter Kim).  Anyway, yay for Kim!  And yay for everyone who’s enthusiastic about the challenge.

Now on to our friend Laura Sanderson Healy’s review of her favorite bookstore in London.  Laura actually lived in London for many years, so she knows what she’s talking about.   Laura is a former London Bureau correspondent for Time Inc. Magazines’ PEOPLE WEEKLY and its Australian sister publication WHO WEEKLY, and now that she lives in Los Angeles, she’s become a dear, personal friend of both Kim’s and mine.  Here’s her review, posted quite coincidentally on her birthday!  Happy birthday, Laura, and thanks–

On a recent trip to London I took the 14 bus from Piccadilly to Fulham to revisit Nomad Books near Parsons Green. There I pondered many titles unknown in the U.S. and purchased ME CHEETA, the “autobiography” of Tarzan’s co-star, tongue-in-cheek recollections illustrated by modern artwork of the world’s most famous chimpanzee which Sir Peter Blake curated to show alongside his own Pop Art at London’s National Gallery a few years back.

Nomad is a quaint and comfortable port of call for booklovers. Behind its cream-painted Victorian shopfront in Fulham Road is a haven of peace for West Londoners who love its collection of nooks and c ozy corners on various levels. Its tiny, integrated café serves sandwiches, desserts, and hot or cold beverages; you can sip lattes in Penguin Book mugs decorated with titles of novels and their authors’ names and mull over a potential purchase.

Buses blast by outside in the pouring rain as strollers meet wheelchairs on the clogged sidewalk, but inside one can stow an umbrella, wash your hands in the homey-style loo (the size of a bedroom), check if a book has arrived, and sit down on the café side to have a pain au chocolate and a read.

I’ve been going to Nomad for at least a decade for myself and my husband who loves the downstairs reading room dedicated to faraway places that has a fine map table on which to spread out future destinations. It has also been a godsend for helping us keep up with the ever-changing reading habits of our bookworm daughter, now 12, who has meandered from the pastel meadows of Beatrix Potter’s countryside and Ludwig Bemelmans’s Paris to the netherworlds of Stephenie Meye r’s vampires .

Their eclectic selections are legendary throughout Fulham and it is a popular stopping off point; I always run into people I know there, and at times have had the staff give me delicious gossip about publishing. I’ve only just deciphered the curling M.B.S. painted over one hallway where greeting cards line a wall: it stands for Mind Body Spirit. I remember getting the hardback of Anthony Kiedis’ autobiography Scar Tissue there after a staffer raved about it (it made me love the Chili Pepper quite a bit less, even though I learned the topography of Los Angeles and a few quirky celebrity connections) as well as a beautifully bound volume of favorite hymns to cheer my inner Protestant. The front desk by the main entry door is lined with gift books and novelty titles and staffed with knowledgeable and helpful souls who will help you in your hunt for specifics or locate a copy for the next day’s delivery.

The children’s section is housed at the very back of the store in the largest space, and on my visit I ran into an old friend from my daughter’s nursery school who was shopping for a younger child. It’s a place that feels comfortable and never rushed, and that’s what you cannot find in the facelessness of the larger stores, where you don’t feel welcome to curl up and dig in to a book.

Nomad hosts readings by authors and has on occasion writing groups and book clubs. There is no website but they do have a mailing list.

HERE IS THE ADDRESS AND A PHOTO FROM:

http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/directory/1278/3011.php

Nomad Books

781 Fulham Road, Fulham
London, SW6 5HA ENGLAND
T: 020 7736 4000

Jessie Bennett is the Blog Editor for Beacon Press.  If you read my last post, you’ll know that I think the Beacon Broadside is well worth checking out.  When we were emailing back and forth about the Jeremy Adam Smith post she suggested we link to because it’s about the value of continuing to write and publish books, Jessie also mentioned some bookstores she loves in different parts of the country.   That was enough for me: I asked her if she’d mind writing about them for the blog.  She was kind enough to do so.

She’s the author of the rest of this post:

In Southeastern Connecticut (where I grew up):

The Book Barn:

This place is huge: six buildings of books just outside of downtown Niantic, an adorable waterfront community on the Connecticut shoreline. The Book Barn is worth a stop if you’re in Southeastern CT (casino, anyone?), but give yourself some time to fully explore their vast trove of used treasures. In recent years, they’ve opened a second, smaller location downtown.

In Greater Boston (where I now live):

Brookline Booksmith:

Greater Boston is filled with readers, and this is one of the busiest spots for books and big-name author visits. The likes of Wally Lamb and P. J. O’Rourke read in the Coolidge Corner theater across the street, then come over to the bookstore for signings, while more intimate readings are held in the store’s Writers and Readers Room. Excellent selection of newer releases and shelves upon shelves of backlist, used, and discount books.

Harvard Bookstore:

There are several good independent specialty bookstores in Harvard Square–Curious George for kids and young adults, Bryn Mawr for used and rare, Revolution Books for Communists (this is the People’s Republic of Cambridge, after all!)-but the place to go for a great selection of general interest books is Harvard Bookstore. With a vibrant lecture and reading series, discounts on store bestsellers, a book club program, and a large discount and used section downstairs, this store has something for everybody. Close proximity to Mr. Bartley’s burgers is a plus.

(Note from Claire: I reviewed both Curious George and the Harvard Bookstore last summer.  Click here if you’re interested in reading more about them.)

In Minnesota, where I lived for seven years…

The Twin Cities used to be home to Hungry Mind Bookstore, one of the most acclaimed independents in the country. Hungry Mind (which sold its name and was Ruminator Bookstore for a short while), went under like so many other stores, but there are still several good places to buy books in “America’s Most Literate City” and its sibling/rival across the river.

Micawbers:

Located in Saint Anthony Park, a residential neighborhood in Saint Paul near the University of Minnesota and the State Fairgrounds, this smallish bookstore has an warm and slightly offbeat feel and friendly, knowledgeable staff. The store always has a good selection of new releases-with plenty of attention given to small presses-and a loyalty program for frequent shoppers. Check out the store’s blog.

Common Good Books:

Garrison Keillor wanted a good bookstore in his Cathedral Hill stomping grounds in Saint Paul, so he opened one himself. Located in the basement of Blair Arcade below Nina’s Coffee Shop, their window sign reads “Classics (All Types), Good Poetry, Quality Trash and Local History.” The store is good for lingering and the selection is thoughtful. Only established about two years ago, an active author series and attention to local writers have established it as a vital part of the literary scene.   They have a store blog, too.

Magers and Quinn:

Uptown is a funky, artsy shopping and dining district in Minneapolis, and Magers and Quinn is the intellectual anchor of the neighborhood. A large store with shelves upon shelves of used books, plus a good selection of noteworthy new releases, the store has built its reputation with its reading series. Events are held several nights a week–some in partnership with the Loft Literary Center, a local arts organization devoted to writers and writing-and, with lots of restaurants, bars and two movie theaters nearby, the store makes seeing a reading a fun part of a night out on the town. David Unowsky, former owner of Hungry Mind Bookstore and now working at Magers and Quinn, was featured recently in a public radio piece about publicizing books.

After Kim sent me TWO separate e-mails with links to websites that said City Lights is one of the best bookstores in the country, I figured she’d never forgive me if I came back from San Francisco without visiting it.   Not that it was a chore, by any means–I love going to bookstores–but it was a necessary pleasure.

Famous from its inception because the poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti was one of the co-founders, City Lights quickly became a meeting place for members of “the Beat” generation and a supporter of books that conservatives wanted to ban.   They’ve continued their “fight the power” attitude–there’s a left-of-liberal political message  in every  well-lit upstairs window.  To summarize: Bush is bad, so is war, and freedom of expression is good.

I don’t mean to be overly glib: this is a good place which has supported the right side of literary and political causes for decades.  So they’ve earned the right to enjoy their reputation–not to mention the hordes of people who stream into the place and, I assume, actually purchase books before leaving.

It was crowded when we went there in the late afternoon on the Monday between Christmas and New Year’s.   Every place in San Francisco was crowded that week, but while I expected to see lines at the Academy of Science, I was more pleasantly surprised to see a lot of people shopping for books.  City Lights, at least, seems immune from the scary times that are threatening a lot of other indies.

In atmosphere, City Lights reminded me a lot of Book Soup (for those angelenos who read this–Kim noticed the same thing).  Warm, inviting, with lots of nooks and crannies to get lost in.  They have a downstairs, an upstairs, a room off of another room, a back room, a front hallway, a back hallway . . .  well, you get the idea.  No simple box, this place.

I went downstairs, past the display of new hardcovers (but this is the kind of store that puts Gary Indiana’s latest by the cash registers, not Grisham or Clancy), let my kids find their way to the (fairly small) children’s section and amused myself by jotting down the names of the more unusual adult aisles, like  ”Muckraking,” “Green Politics,” “Stolen Continents,” “Best of University Presses,” and so on.  There was a whole display devoted to Che Guevara and an extensive “Queer Section” (their name, not mine). 

Just as at Book Soup, I felt slightly not cool enough for this place.   I assumed, for instance, that they would never sell any one of my novels–it’s not their kind of thing (a quick look in the upstairs fiction room proved my guess to be accurate).   And my presence there probably doubled their annual numbers of self-described housewives.  On the plus side, they let my kids use their bathroom even though it’s not open to the public and when Rob asked them for a restaurant recommendation, they were incredibly nice and helpful.  So I guess my feelings of insecurity are simply leftover from watching the cool (druggie?) kids in high school and wishing I could be one of them and knowing I never would be, and not from anything this lovely bookstore set out to do.

Their website is fantastic and saves me from having to go through all the history of the place and how they publish books now, too.  There’s a lot of cool information about the Beat generation.  (The upstairs room in the bookstore is devoted to poetry and Beat literature, by the way. )  Go to their site and read about how Ferlinghetti published Allen Ginsberg’s book of poetry back in the ’50′s and got arrested on obscenity charges, leading to a landmark case about First Amendment rights.   I can poke fun all I want: anyone who loves books should be grateful for all Ferlinghetti’s done.  And for this bookstore.

My only disappointment was that Audrey Hepburn didn’t appear in a pair of black clamdiggers and a black turtleneck to do an improvised dance to some jazz music.   If she were alive and likely to start dancing in a bookstore, this is the place she’d do it in.

City Lights
261 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, CA  94133
T: (415) 362-8193 
F: (415) 362- 4921