On Books-Confessions of a Bookstore Snob Part 2: My Favorite Bookstores

 Since I am a self-appointed bookstore snob, there are bookstores that I think are doing it right and doing it well, this is a list of  my favorite bookstores. They are all just a little different from one another, some differences are obvious, and some differences are not.  The reasons why these bookstores are  favorites are sometimes ethereal rather than real. I start with the famous large bookstores and amble my way to the smaller and more eclectic stores. I will end with an elegy for stores that are no longer in business and why my memories about them will always stay in my mind.

My relationship with Powell’s Bookstore goes back many years. I was in Seattle in 1990 for a technical conference and one of my college friends lived in Portland at the time, so I took the opportunity to visit Portland from Seattle. We spent a day driving around the Oregon coast and then he took me to Powell’s Bookstore. We went with his family in tow including his grandmother-in-law, his wife ,and his newborn baby daughter.

We walked in and I must have looked stunned because he and his wife just laughed at me. They told me to go look around while they went to the coffee shop. They told me to visit for as long as I wanted. By the way, the Powell’s coffee shop was the first coffee shop that I had ever seen in a bookstore, before all the others followed suit.

I walked around the store impressed at the immenseness of the building, stunned by the broad selection of books, and excited by the number of genres represented in one bookstore. I used to joke that they had a special shelf for seventeenth century Japanese haikus and not all of the books were written by Basho. I was not able to visit all the floors because I was very conscious of the fact that I'm spending my friend’s family time and I doubt that the family would have wanted to spend the entire day in a bookstore. I did gather quite a haul, which I carelessly stuffed into my bag and hurriedly drove back to Seattle for my return flight. The guy at the check-in counter informed me that  I was  five pounds over the weight limit. As I was frantically trying to figure out what to do, the check-in agent asked whether I was shipping bricks home. Not thinking, I said I was just in Portland, he interrupted me and said: “you went to Powell’s, didn't you?” He waved his hand and said: “go ahead I know what it's like.” Everyone in the Pacific Northwest knows and loves Powell’s.

I had visited Powell’s numerous times in the intervening years, whether I visited Seattle, or Portland I made sure  I visited Powell's. I attended two technical conferences in Portland in 2018, so, I took full advantage. In fact, I have gotten to know the Powell's City of Books so well that I have memorized the Powell’s floorplan to make it easier for me to look at all the sections that I wanted to visit, I cannot claim the same about the city of Portland.

One thing that I do miss is the Powell’s Technical Bookstore. It was folded back into the main store a few years ago. On one of my visits to Portland, I walked around the block numerous times where the technical bookstore resided, but  there was a different storefront. The mothership City of Books, still has a formidable technical section, but it was comforting to have a dedicated technical bookstore.

A brief description for those of you who have not been to Powell’s, it is 6 floors of heaven. As you walk in, before you get too far into the store, there is a counter with people manning it, their job is to guide you and give you foldup maps of the store, that's how big it is. Powell’s has its own parking garage. It is wall to wall bookcases.  They display the new and used books together on the same shelf, the first and only place that I have seen this practice. Powell’s is what I had imagined the Cemetery of Lost Books from Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s novel Shadow of the Wind would look like.

I spent many happy hours savoring the smell of the books, as well as the sights of fellow book lovers poring through the stacks, the seductive covers, and promises of a new book beckoning me to take it off the shelf to sample its contents. There is no other feeling like it.

Once, during one of my rare sojourns to the Pacific Northwest,  I got out of my Lyft ride and there was a line snaking all the way around the block, which led up to the Pearl room.  The reason was that  Bruce Springsteen was signing his book in the Pearl room, that kept me from my technical books habit. It was going to be a few hours, but that was no problem, I just wandered around the rest of Powell’s, shopping for reading material. I was able to visit my technical book collection after Springsteen had left the building a few hours later.

I always walked away a few hundred dollars poorer but much richer in the currency of the soul. As online book buying became more convenient and ubiquitous, I started  to buy from Powell’s online. In fact, I used the reverse Amazon strategy in this endeavor. Many book shoppers would look through the brick and mortar bookstores to add to their wish list and then buy those books on Amazon.  I do the opposite: I  look up books on Amazon, and keep it on my Amazon phone app, THEN  I go to independent brick or mortar stores or independent electronic bookstores to buy those books from the independents. I am sure Amazon does not care.

This is an everything-to-everyone bookstore that got it right. Unfortunately, the pandemic has hit Powell’s hard. They closed the brick and mortar bookstores to keep their customers and employees safe; so they have been subsisting on just the electronic commerce. Once that word got out, many Powell’s fans have been buying books on their website to help them stay alive. I hope that they can recover. I want to visit them sometime soon.

Another large independent everything-to-everyone bookstore is the Tattered Cover in Denver CO, there are a few locations of the Tattered Cover all around the Denver Metro area;  I have been to three of them. The one that I was the most familiar with is the one in Lodo in downtown Denver. The Lodo store had two floors at one time, while  the first floor was impressive, the combination of the first and second floor was magical. The trip upstairs on the very wide staircase made me feel like I was  on an important and sacred quest in search of knowledge.  I still like the Lodo store, it just does not seem as complete without that second floor.

I had left the Denver area after having lived there for six years. I was not living there when the Tattered Cover opened its initial store in Cherry Creek. Luckily, my friend Karen introduced me to the Tattered Cover on Colfax. I giggled a little bit when she told me where it was because Colfax Avenue had a certain reputation in the Denver of my youth.  As she drove me there, it was another come to Jesus moment for me. The Colfax Avenue Tattered Cover used to be a theater.  They were able to strip the seats and other telltale signs of the theater out and they put bookshelves in every artful theatrically defined space.  There are bookcases onstage, in the backstage, and in every space imaginable. There is also a grand entrance to the theater that is filled with the magazine section.  The sweeping twin staircases that led to the lower level  took you to more hidden bibliophilic treasures. The architectural charms of that theater manifest itself in all the details that are on the walls and in the shape of the building; indeed, what better complement to the architecture than bookcases?

The bonus with the Colfax Avenue Tattered Cover is the old-fashioned music store that is located right next door. The Twist and Shout sells vinyl, CDs , DVDs,  and other audio medium, it is the music equivalent to the Tattered Cover. The familiar smell of incense will hit your nostrils, your mind will wander to that time in our lives when we burned incense to cover up the smells of other burning things.  Of course, that is something no one must worry about anymore, at least in Colorado. It is usually a four-hour visit for me between both stores. There is the ubiquitous coffee shop with fine pastries attached to the Tattered Cover, and of course there is an impressive parking garage in the complex for your parking pleasures.

Carmichael Books in Louisville Ky is quite different from Powell’s and the Tattered Cover. Whereas the other two are both physically large and ambitious in intentions, Carmichael Books is smaller physically but equally ambitious in intention. There are two Carmichael Books that I frequent; one is on Bardstown Road and the other is on Frankfurt Avenue. The Frankfurt store has a large children's book section that takes up most of the backroom, with the store space thus defined and limited, their selection of non-children’s and YA books is also more limited than the Bardstown location. The Bardstown store is in a little house, by virtue of the shape of the lot and the house, they have had to build their displays upwards.  At Bardstown, the first place I check, after the front display tables, is right next to the cash register: the shelves holding the  employee’s recommendations. The uniqueness of the staff’s selection makes up for limited scope. I go to Louisville often, at least twice a year and I always make a trip to both Carmichael Books. I will inevitably walk away with new purchases from both stores. It is not that I am a glutton for books, although I am that, it is just that the selection of books at Carmichael Books so intrigues me and I cannot fight the urge to buy.  

One distinguishing feature about Carmichael Books is that the store owners and employees are truly proud to champion their local authors. I had heard of Wendell Berry before I started visiting Carmichael Books, but I really got a taste of all of Wendell Berry’s writings because Carmichael Books carries just about every single book that he has ever written. I was also able to find an extensive section of books about Kentucky Bourbon, as well as books on Kentucky. Most bookstores will tout their local history, literary heritage, and defining cultural specialties; but Carmichael’s attention to their part of these United States seem particularly enthusiastic.

Carmichael Books is a unique little bookstore that will envelope you with their charm. Being in Carmichael Books is akin to sitting back on your favorite chair while wrapped in your favorite blanket and drinking your favorite hot beverage, you are cozy. The Bardstown area is an esoteric area of Louisville, I always take the scenic route leaving the Bardstown store by taking a serpentine way through a neighborhood of  beautiful old houses with giant porticos and grand lawns.

I have been to Full Circle Bookstore only once. I was visiting Oklahoma City for a volleyball coaches convention.  I found the Full Circle Bookstore on the Indiebooks.com website. It really did not seem too promising when I realized that Full Circle Bookstore is housed in a shopping mall, the hairs in the back of my head started to stand up but I went ahead. It was late December in Oklahoma City and I was not expecting much. I was rewarded with amazement. The bookstore itself seemed so much bigger then what I had guessed. The selection of books was exceptionally good. I was browsing as I always do when I go to an unknown bookstore, so I was not looking for specific books, but I found books that appealed. It was right before Christmas so they had all of the decorations out; there was a bit of a chill in Oklahoma City so they had a nice roaring fire going in the fireplace with some comfy sofas strategically placed around the fireplace.  I found some books, I sat on one of the sofas and I started reading.  Then I got up, I looked for some more books, sat down again, and did some more reading, repeat a few more times until I sensed that it might be good form to buy those books. I expected my mom to walk in and tell me to go change into my PJs and just snuggle up on the couch. I did not do that, even though I was very tempted, I think they would have  kicked me out of the bookstore, although I am not so sure. It was just a very pleasant experience that I had never expected in a mall in Oklahoma City. I would love to go back and revisit.

I first visited the Elliott Bay Bookstore during a visit to Seattle, it was still in the old location, it impressed me as one of the rambling grand old bookstores. I remember parking on the street and marveling at their newfangled parking system. Its vibe was very comforting, the selection was broad and eclectic enough to hold my attention. I do remember that the store was hectic. I believe they have moved to a smaller, more out of the way location. Elliott Bay Bookstore always held a very warm spot in my heart because the first visit was just so enjoyable.

Another bookstore that I have only visited once is Politics and Prose. I was in Washington DC for a meeting, so this visit was strategically planned out and well executed. I did not have much time as  I arrived in DC the night before the meeting, so time was of the essence. I navigated  directly from the Washington National airport to  Politics and Prose. It would be very bad form if I visited DC without visiting Politics and Prose, because the bookstore is  famous amongst the cognoscenti of fine bookstores, for good reason.  They are also famous for hosting many author’s events. There are many YouTube videos of talks given at Politics and Prose by authors, famous and infamous. I was introduced to the historian John Lewis Gaddis by one of these YouTube videos, and for that I am very grateful. Politics and Prose is very welcoming to authors who give these book talks, but these talks are not just run of the mill bookselling book talks. The talks on serious topics  given by serious people are what drew me in.

I remember the store being  very spread out.  I picked up a couple of books there, one is A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger, I remembered thinking: why I had not seen the book before? I think I also picked up a couple of Italo Calvino books.

There was a  mechanical device that printed out self-published books sitting in one of the smaller rooms.  One just needed to bring in their manuscript on an USB drive and the machine will automatically typeset the book and print it out for you right away.  I also remember that parking was atrocious and  that I had to park way far away and then having to walk back to the bookstore.  I was hoping that I remembered where I parked my car, so I did not have to walk all around DC trying to find my car. I did, and I managed to find my way to my hotel and make my meeting the following day, after satiating in my bibliophilic urges, of course.

The Renaissance Bookstore in the General Mitchell Airport in Milwaukee was another unique experience. I was at a conference at the Milwaukee convention center and I was looking for the Renaissance Bookstore in downtown Milwaukee.  The concierge had to break the bad news to me: unfortunately, the downtown location had closed. I was sorely disappointed because they come highly recommended. But he did say that they have moved to the General Mitchell field airport in Milwaukee. I had flown in and out of General Mitchell field for years and never noticed. Why would you leave a prime downtown location to move to be a news stand in the airport? I did not know, and I did not hold out much hope.

When I left Milwaukee,  I drove to the airport extremely early and dropped off my car. I was walking around killing time when I remembered about the bookstore. It occupied a large chunk of the lobby of the Milwaukee airport, it was organized like all good used bookstores, very chaotically, and the store smelled like a used bookstore, a very good sign, and my hopes rose anew. The clerks at Renaissance Bookstore looked like people who worked in a very good used bookstore, i.e. not particularly well kempt but not sloppy either.

I spent as much time as I could before I had to go catch my flight and to my delight, I found a set of four hefty paperback books titled: The World of Mathematics, a new edition of an older series. Four books for $30. Are you kidding me? I jumped at it and those were the only books that I bought there that day because I just did not have time to browse further nor did I have the room in my carryon luggage since I had checked my luggage; I just had my little roller bag as a carryon so I stuffed my prize find into it. I was bursting with happiness as I dragged my now heavier roller bag through the airport.

The Renaissance Bookstore just defies expectations and descriptions,  it was just an oasis of used book happiness sitting in the middle of an airport. I think The Renaissance Bookstore solidified in my mind the necessity of having great used bookstores in all great airports.

Bookends and Beginnings in Evanston Il was a serendipitous find for me. I was in Evanston for a course on finite element analysis and I planned out my trip. Evanston is the home of Northwestern University, so I had great hopes. I was rewarded with Bookends and Beginnings, a quaint little bookstore that does not have everything to make everyone happy,  but its eclectic selection and the skill of the book buyer made it more than just a little interesting.

Bookends and Beginnings is hard to find, and they know it, they go out of their way to help people find the store; it is in an alley. Luckily for me it was close to my hotel, so I was able to walk to it because I suspected that parking was going to be an issue and it was. Even though I found it, it did not look too hopeful because it looked like a very high-end boutique-y  kind of place.  Until  you looked at the books on the table and you realize that this was a serious bibliophile oasis. I spent multiple hours there looking at books. One fantastic find are the many books by the writer Joseph Epstein. Those of you who know Joseph Epstein knows that he is a very erudite writer with a gentle wit. He is strongly opinionated about everything that he writes about. I attended one of his talks in Saint Louis at the Washington University in Saint Louis. As I was checking out, the clerk says: “Oh Joe Epstein, he comes in here often, he's a good friend of the store.”  that just added to the cool factor. This is a niche bookstore, they try to serve every patron as much as they can, but they obviously don't have the physical space, so they have to be very selective in their stock selection. Some of it was not to my taste but that is OK because they probably fit the taste of those who live in Evanston IL so that was a very good find.

Now let us talk, sadly, about long-lost friends. There are two bookstores that I particularly miss. Both bookstores played a role in my development as a bookstore snob. The first one is Oxford Books in Atlanta GA. I spent nine years in Atlanta as a gradual student at Georgia Tech. The selection at Oxford Books is pretty much the diametric opposite of what I was doing in my daily life, it provided a comforting counterpoint to my dominant mental process at the time. I became a regular habitué.  Oxford Books is hard to describe because my memories of the store are romantically tinted with only the fondest memories. There are two stores; one is Oxford Books which is buried deep in the Peachtree Battle Shopping Center. The sensory memory that I most remember are the sights and smell:  it looked like a serious bookstore, and it smelled like paper and glue as you entered, a most  comforting sensation. The selection at Oxford was amazing because I spent a ton of money at Oxford Books. In fact, I think they closed because I had moved away from Atlanta and they were deprived of my money when I left. The second store is called Oxford 2, which is right up the hill from Oxford books and is the used book counterpart.  I remember that it was brightly lit, with bright wooden floors. I remember thinking that I've never seen used books look so good. I don't know what they did but it was all very well organized, in sharp contrast to the stereotypical used book stores, which made it all the more inviting and attractive. Most used bookstores are full of used books stacked perilously as the customers navigated the labyrinth of meandering paths through the bookcases, being careful to not create an avalanche of falling books. They are also not very well categorized, although that is a part of a used bookstore’s charm. The smell of a used bookstore is also different, it does not smell like new paper and glue it smells like old paper and glue tempered by people’s houses, where these books were kept for many years. Between Oxford Books and Oxford 2 I spent most of my stipend from my gradual student days.

A few years after I left Atlanta, both stores met their demise. I do not remember why but I think they were victims of their own successes; the  stores were in a prime location so the rent could have just gotten to be too much to sustain. I keep using the word oasis for these bookstores, indeed that is what they felt like to an engineering gradual student who was under immense pressure to only think in the technical mode. I would go to Oxford and Oxford 2 just to get my mind realigned and rebalanced.

The second bookstore that I miss dearly fell victim to Borders. It is the Library Ltd. in St Louis Mo. After I moved to Saint Louis, I found the Library Ltd.  it was not too far from where I lived,  a very dangerous happenstance. I lived in Richmond Heights and the Library Ltd. was in downtown Clayton, within a five-minute drive of my home. It was housed in an immense building; a big part of the storefront was devoted to the fantasy Castle, which served as the  center of the children's book section. It was a work of love by the people who worked at the store. It became an identifying landmark for Library Ltd.   

Library Ltd.  was special and unique because it you could tell that book lovers owned it and you could tell book lovers work there because they were meticulous with their selections. The book buyers are the heroes, they picked a perfect balance of esoteric books along with usual popular books so that it drew in both kinds of crowds. Clayton is a very affluent suburb of Saint Louis, so they had to cater everyone if they wanted to survive.

If I had free time or if I needed to clear my mind, I would drive over to Library Ltd.  just to browse and enter my safe haven. Unfortunately, the owners decided that they wanted to get out of the book business, so they sold it to Borders. Borders told everyone in Saint Louis that they felt that the  Library Ltd.  is so unique that they would never  change it, but we were not fooled. The bibliophiles in the city of Saint Louis expected the worst but hoped for the best. It was not long before Borders announced that they were opening a new store a few miles from the old Library Ltd. location and closing the old store. I  remember driving by the old location after the move and seeing the magical Castle sitting forlornly in the otherwise empty space that housed one of the best bookstores I had ever experienced, it was a gut punch and a cut through the heart. The new Borders closed when Borders went out of business, I would like to think of their corporate demise as karma for buying Library Ltd. duplicitously and depriving Saint Louis of one of its best. Yes, I am still bitter.

One unifying theme that binds all my favorite bookstores together is the unique ethos that pervade these businesses. This obviously comes from the bookstore owner, but much of the feel and vibe of each bookstore also comes from the eclectic taste and sensibilities of the staff and the freedom that they have been given by the owners to fully exercise their uniqueness. The bookstores are much more than just physical incarnations; it is much more than just how imposing and aesthetically pleasing these bookstores are which excites us visually. There is a large bookstore in Dayton that completely waste their magnificent space because of the sterility that they had imposed on the ethos by filling the space with less than impressive book selections and a corporate non-personality. A soulful bookstore emits an ethereal feel as you enter and roam its bookcases.  All of that comes from the people who are manning the ramparts of the store front.

The store employees are trying to make a living, that is understood, but more importantly,  their passion and accrued knowledge makes each bookstore unique. One would certainly expect a bookstore employee to be well read, but the special quality that is palpable when you walk into a special bookstore is boosted by the people who work there and how passionately opinionated they are about books, not all books, just the great ones. They are our Sherpas in our journey towards enlightenment, if not happiness. These are the people who can recommend books by knowing what you have read, they know instinctively what your next book should be. Or they are the ones who can warn us away from a bad investment, because they know books, they know publishing, and they read, copiously, like us.

As you can see, I have emotional bonds with my favorite book stores; they give me satisfaction they give me comfort; they make me feel cozy; they make me feel like I am loved because I'm surrounded by books. It is a strange disease that I have but it is all mine.