Last weekend, in Philly, we went bookstore hunting, among other things. I had written down a lot of stores and addresses. We only actually went to two of them: Book Trader in Olde City, where I went in August when I was there for a week; and House of Our Own, an independent shop in West Philly.
House of Our Own had a second floor full of used books. Within two minutes of getting there, I had an arm full of Michael Chabon and was mourning having to leave behind Hemingway’s works on bullfighting. I’ve seldom been to such an organized bookstore, and the lady working there was incredibly nice. They had sections for everything: American Radicalism, Economics, Ecology, Eco-Economics, Peace Studies, Nonviolence, Gandhi (!), Community Organizing, etc.
Our train was leaving shortly, and we had a long walk to get there. So I didn’t get to check out the first floor or hang out in the reading nook. They put bookmarks in the books for you, which is one of my favorite things. I buy a lot of books when I travel, and it’s nice to remember where I got them.
I like browsing in,and buying books from used book stores. As of next week, I am taking a part-time job at a small family owned book store in town, which specialises in new and used mystery books. Lets see how it works out.
It will be a second job, but, it will help me buys some book for myself, as well as some nice vintage American fountain pens. :)
That sounds like fun! I worked in a bookstore in college, and there was nothing sweeter than the employee discount:)
I went down t their basement storage to bring up some books to stock shelves. And I saw they had first editions of Sherlock Holmes books,and other great stuff!!!
BTW, the independent, scholarly, book store I used to work at is going out of business. As of next week. I am very sad. Oh well, life goes on.
All those books – so beautiful!!
I found it really difficult to leave:)
oh dude, you would SO love my local bookstore. it’s like your photos here, but much much DENSER. seriously. and it’s in this old house/dairy that’s sort of grown and congealed together over the last 300 years to form this deliciously invitingly bewildering mess of labyrinthine tunnels of books and pockets of random rooms, with not a right-angle to be found. ancient stuff (original elizabethan parchments) along with new along with vast masses of miscellanea of miscellaneous ages and qualities. it smells of everything you ever thought Book was, when you were a kid.
they have a big portico out front which has perhaps 4 times as many books as your first photo here, and it’s open to the street and is “open” 24 hours and is on an honesty system (please put your money through the post-slit).
it’s at the end of my road.
i have to avoid it.
(the portico is perhaps 1/20th or less the size of the total bookshop’s floorplan…)