Book Stores

[Comshaw]

There are book stores, then there are BOOK STORES. I've had the opportunity, twice to visit the largest one in the world, Powell's City of Books in Portland Oregon. How big is it? It takes up a whole city block. You could get lost in it for days. It has both new and used books. The last time I was there we arrived an hour after it opened and spent the whole day. Even then I didn't get to visit all the rooms. There are all kinds of treasures on those shelves.

I found a US Army TM (Technical Manual) for a M42A2 Duster twin 40mm, a cannon I worked on while in the army tucked away on a self. The SciFi room is also interesting. In the center is a square column and on two sides are listed the winners for the Nebula Award on one side and the Hugo Awards on the other. The first date for the Hugo award, way up at the top was the first year it was given, 1953. The Nebula award is the same, the first year posted on that column is 1965.

I need to make time to go back to Powell's. It's a place that's magical to those who love books. They also have chairs placed around so you can sit and read. If you ever get a chance to go, and you love books, go. you will not be disappointed. Here's a map of the place to give you some idea how much exploration it would take to discover everything there. The resolution of the map is way to big to post, so here's the link.

http://www.powells.com/portals/0/images/burnside-map-2015.jpg


Comshaw

 

[AlinaX]

I've spent time in the British Library and only seen a fraction of it. Fantastic experience.

 

[TheLobster]

I’ve been to Powell’s once, almost ten years ago now, but only had a few hours to look around. It’s four gigantic floors that are tightly packed with books but I don’t recall much else besides that. On the other hand, do you need anything more, really?

I just hope it didn’t suffer any damage, given what’s been happening in Portland for the last few years…

 

[lovecraft68]

Its nothing on a grand scale, but when I was in my early teens I discovered a bookstore named Cellar stories in downtown Providence that was-and still is pure magic. Books, pulps, comics, first editions and very Lovecraft friendly due to being Providence. Paperbacks were half cover price and every week I'd go down there, buy a few, read them and be back next week.

What was funny is the gentlemen that ran it never seemed to age. I'm talking going there for over thirty years and not much change and I began to fancy him as a character in a HPL story. He did pass a few years back, but the store is still thriving. I took my daughters there when they were kids and took my grandson and grand daughter there a few months ago.

Here's a short video about it

 

[Kumquatqueen]

In London there's the huge branch of Waterstones (was Dillons) behind UCL which offers huge amounts of academic books as well as everything else. I spent a fair bit of my childhood being dropped there for a couple hours.

Waterstones Gower Street is Europe's largest new and second hand bookshop, with enormous academic/specialist range – home to an award-winning events programme, Dillon's coffee shop and vinyl store Gower Records.
Deep in the heart of literary Bloomsbury lives London’s local bookshop. Since being established as Dillon’s University Bookshop in 1956 by Una Dillon, Waterstones Gower Street has maintained its philosophy of literary, academic and bookselling excellence, and has grown from a small space on the ground floor to now encompass all five floors of Charles Fitzroy-Doll’s Franco-Gothic masterpiece. This Grade 2 listed building is a home away from home for many locals who enjoy getting lost in our cosy corners, surrounded by knowledge.
With 5 miles of new and second-hand books, we offer a vast range of classic titles, alongside something more special.

There's also the Piccadilly one which used to be Simpsons department store - nearly as big, with way more books and games and souvenirs about London and bigger children's section, but absolute swarms of tourists to match. Gower Street just has lots of students intermittently.

 

[mildlyaroused]

My first job was in a book store. For privacy purposes I won't say exactly where, but it wasn't one of those big heaving establishments that others have mentioned in this thread. It was a small place, with only two or three regular staff (including myself). We had a range of fiction and non-fiction, with some rare and first-edition books kept inside some creaky old cabinets that I always thought I would break when I opened them. I wrote parts of my first published novel from behind the store counter, when I was meant to be working.

There is a great charm to the smaller book stores too. It's the difference between a fantastic banquet, and going back home for one of Mum's best homemade meals. They are cosy!

 

[PennameWombat]

I’ve been to Powell’s once, almost ten years ago now, but only had a few hours to look around. It’s four gigantic floors that are tightly packed with books but I don’t recall much else besides that. On the other hand, do you need anything more, really?

I just hope it didn’t suffer any damage, given what’s been happening in Portland for the last few years…

Um, what's happened in Portland in the last few years? No, really. What?

Do you mean homeless people? My favorite sign from one wanting handouts (a bearded dude) was "too ugly to f*ck, too drunk to work."

Do you mean federal agents in unmarked vans beating and kidnapping protestors?

Anyway... this should go to the politics thread. But I can't help myself.

But, yes, the Portland downtown core was affected by the Covid pandemic and loss of business. The homeless issue has been happening for a long, long time. The pandemic didn't help, and now it's a bit more visible to 'normies' instead of just us folks who used to trundle about Old Town and around Union Station. And if you think that's unique to Portland, wow, that's... anyway. But if you're thinking Portland is a burned out shell, you're, uh, huffing propaganda.

Powell's is fine. The employees were never massed around it fighting massive fires that approached from rampant arson or anything. Nor did they need to form firing lines to defend against rampaging zombie hordes.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

"too ugly to f*ck, too drunk to work."

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'm fond of Readings in Melbourne. It's not a huge place, but what stands out is that there's almost no filler. I could close my eyes, pick a book at random, and be nearly certain of finding something that makes me think "well that sounds interesting!" because it's run by people who love books and put a lot of thought into curation. A few years back Borders tried to open up a store nearby, which is usually the death knell for indies, but Readings is still there and Borders is gone. Borders was cheaper but people kept going to Readings because the selection was better.

 

[XerXesXu]

In London there's the huge branch of Waterstones (was Dillons) behind UCL which offers huge amounts of academic books as well as everything else. I spent a fair bit of my childhood being dropped there for a couple hours.

My girlfriend and I went there to do research. No need to buy anything, then go and sit in the coffee bar to write up our homework. No need to buy coffee.

 

[Rob_Royale]

While deployed, we were lucky enough to have our mid-patrol break in Key West. On the street that ran between the piers and Duval street were a number of old homes. One such had been converted into a book store. A shipmate and I wandered in one afternoon and was immediately struck by how lovely it was on the inside. Lot's of wood shelving, counters and tables, with nice plush leather chairs everywhere. Good lighting and the sound of a pleasant wind chime outside. A cappuccino machine was behind the counter, and the attendant was a rather bohemian looking woman with tie-dye and dreadlocks. It was like the perfect place to sit down with a book and spend a quiet afternoon.

After a few minutes just admiring the place, my friend and I started perusing the books. It took us a few more minutes to deduce this was a gay book store, based upon the subject matter.

My friend got all flustered and complained to me under his breath. C'mon man, this is Key West, what do you expect, I said to him. He left all in a flurry. The attendant and I had a good laugh.

 

[MelissaBaby]

John King Books in Detroit is amazing. It is in a four story building that used to be a glove factory. By some accounts, the largest used book store in America.

 

[Rob_Royale]

John King Books in Detroit is amazing. It is in a four story building that used to be a glove factory. By some accounts, the largest used book store in America.

View attachment 2373325

That reminds me of a lot of the old cigar factories in Tampa.

 

[lovecraft68]

There's a nice little used book store about five minutes from me. I go every couple of weeks and spend a few dollars, and sometimes I don't even buy for me, but my daughter or something my wife might like. I do it to support them because they're a dying breed, and something I've noticed is people tend to say "Oh, that's to bad that store closed" but yet they hadn't gone there in forever because they're lazy and buying everything on line.

This happens in every industry. I can't stress enough that if you want to actually support brick and mortar stores, especially smaller ones, you have to leave your precious house and devices and do it.

 

[Carnevil9]

Pretty much all the used bookstores near me have dried up and blown away in the wind. So have most of the new bookstores, for that matter, but I miss the used ones the most. The closest I can still find is the book shelf at the local thrift store.

 

[intim8]

John King Books in Detroit is amazing. It is in a four story building that used to be a glove factory. By some accounts, the largest used book store in America.

View attachment 2373325

I came here to add this one. It's always my first stop in Detroit.

It's one of those places with only minimal organization, and a claimed one million plus books, so going there is more like a safari than a shopping trip.

 

[MrJMasters]

I can feel the passion for the old book stores in your comments. The energy in these spaces has something special.

I'm not good at self promotion (maybe because I'm still finding my way in sharing my stories) but a recent visit to a book shop in my home town, that sounds like so many of the places of literary peace you describe, it turned into a story I recently shared here.

https://www.literotica.com/s/the-bookstore-19