Indie Bookstore Travelogue

Bobzbay

2011-03-26T18:35:00.000-05:00

*** Picture Coming Soon! ***

When I first saw Bobzbay, I didn't realize that it was a bookstore! I knew from the store name that it focuses heavily on Internet sales and probably started as an Internet company before acquiring a store front. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Bobzbay, besides selling DVDs and music, is a bookseller. I first realized that fact when I saw the store owner at the library sale looking for books, where I also was searching for my new venture Mother Jones Books. But yesterday I visited the store and found it to be a very nice addition to the Bloomington-Normal downtown community.

Bobzbay already has a good collection of used literature, fiction and nonfiction, including some interesting local fare. The store is very pleasant inside and the owner is very accommodating, taking requests from the community. I purchased a copy of Franz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth for my own store and almost purchased Chomsky's Rogue States. I was told by the person I assume is Bob that the store is undergoing a major expansion, opening up a whole huge section to customers. I'll definitely be back to see the new look!

Bobzbay
419 N. Main Street
Bloomington, IL
309-740-2012
www.bobzbay.com

Micawber's Bookstore

2010-08-06T22:00:00.001-05:00

I didn't plan on visiting Macawber's when I was in Minneapolis/St. Paul this summer. It was on my list of stores to visit if I had the time, having skimmed the Indiebound website for any stores that I might have missed in the area when I lived in the Twin Cities. What brought me to the Saint Anthony Park neighborhood of Saint Paul, where this store is nestled in a leafy and laid-back neighborhood, is the the Finnish Bistro across the street where I met some friends for brunch (which, I have to add, has very tasty food; I had a very delicious omelet with lamb meat). After eating my friend and I took a little time to visit the store for about 15 minutes.

Macawber's is a very charming and respectable neighborhood bookstore. I liked that it is a small store, but even thought it was small, it has small real strengths. To the right as you enter, it houses a very large children's section, and scattered through the store one finds very good specialized sections on Minnesota (its history and culture), poetry, and cookbooks. It has bookstore traditional sections, fiction and nonfiction, making for a good browse. The staff in the store was extremely friendly, enthusiastically answering questions and chatting with customers. My friend was taken by a Big Lebowski kit (referring to the movie) and almost bought it after conversing with the staff person for awhile on the movie and its merits.

Micawber's has down-home charm and makes for a great bookstore visit after eating at the Finnish Bistro.

Micawber's

2238 Carter Avenue

Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108

(612) 646-5506

www.micawbers.com
www.macawbers.blogspot.com

Common Good Books

2010-07-23T14:05:00.000-05:00

Common Good Books is famous for being owned by Garrison Keillor. It is a pleasant store, specializing in new books, with a winding layout and cloistered reading areas. I haven't bought many books from the store, only because there are so many other well-deserving indie bookstores in the Twin Cities and I figured Keillor would do well with his liberal base in what feels like a gentrified, upper middle class neighborhood. That might be a little unfair characterizing it such, after all I always ended up in this neighborhood. There is a very nice coffee shop, Nina's, just above the store and I regularly met my colleagues just across the street at W.A. Frost, a very nice restaurant and bar. And, the headquarters of my old union, Saint Paul Federation of Teachers is in the same building as the bookstore, the Blair Arcade. Visiting the area, and the store, on this 2010 summer trip did bring back the memories.

Common Good Books
165 Western Avenue North
St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102
www.commongoodbooks.com

The Book Cellar

2010-07-19T13:06:00.005-05:00

Located in Lincoln Square in Chicago, the Book Cellar is the sort of indie specializing in new books that I imagine would succeed here in Bloomington-Normal. I was having this discussion with a friend of mine, as we toured this store and the used bookstore Ravenswood just down the street, wondering how indie store can compete these days with the big boxes, the Barnes and Borders, and online e-readers. This store focuses on books, but also attracts customers with their paper and cards, as well as coffee.

Overall I was very impressed by Lincoln Square's bookstore selections overall. The Bookcellar contrasted perfectly with Ravenswood, offering customers two wildly different experiences in just a few blocks- the spacious new and modern that is Bookcellar vs. the ancient rambling maze of unexpected discoveries that is Ravenswood. And just across the street from the BookCellar is a fun store specializing in brain games and puzzles. Definitely worth a visit.

Bookcellar
4736-38 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60625
773-293-2265
http://www.bookcellarinc.com/

Ravenswood Used Books

2010-07-05T12:45:00.007-05:00

On the Saturday of our July 4th weekend excursion to Chicago, we walked around Lincoln Square a bit after viewing there the Spain-Paraguay game of the World Cup. We came across this quirky bookstore, its name not at all prominent in the store front, that reminded me of Paul's bookstore in Madison but much more intense. I've never seen a bookstore so crowded with books, a "Kafkaesque maze," as my friend who also visited the store put it. Narrow passageways wound around the store, oftentimes leading to small nooks and crannies and dead ends, with books sometimes hanging precariously above you on wooden planks. The store had quite a selection of obscure used books, making for a great way to distract oneself for hours. I bought a book of Mark Twain's lesser known non-fiction works, a somewhat dated history of Mexico in the 20th century, and a book entitled The Mind of the Dolphin. What a visit! With yesterday's find, and now this store, Chicago is proving to be quite the place for independent bookstores!

Ravenswood Used Books
4626 North Lincoln Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625-2071
(773) 593-9166
http://chibooks.blogspot.com/

Tres Americas Books, Inc.

2010-07-04T18:05:00.004-05:00

I happened to see Tres Americas as we drove into Chicago this past weekend and feel fortunate that I did! I have to say, this store is one of the most impressive I've visited in awhile. When I noticed the storefront, we were heading down Pulaski Street to meet friends at BadDog's Bar, for a beer and burger lunch. We found some time later that afternoon, before the Dale Watson concert, to head back and check the store out.

Tres Americas has an impressive collection of books in Spanish, including fiction, nonfiction, dictionaries and other useful reference books, and even books for children. It is the largest such bookstore I've seen so far in the states, with the old Resource Center of the Americas in Minneapolis (now out of business, I think) coming in as a close second. This is a store we'll continue to patronize, given its extensive collection of hard-to-find Spanish books. From what the owner told us, he'll even do orders through the mail.

I ended up buying a gigantic narrative biography of Pancho Villa by Paco Ignacio Taibo II and an anthology of literature. Tres Americas will be on our list of destinations every time we're in Chicago, I'm sure.

Tres Americas Books, Inc.
Libros en Español
4336 N. Pulaski Rd.
Chicago, IL 60641
Tel: 773-481-9090
www.tresamericasbooks.net

Monkeywrench Books

2010-01-24T22:10:00.014-06:00

I've been traveling to Austin to visit a friend of mine for ten years now and every time I've made a pilgrimage to Monkeywrench books. Monkeywrench is a radical bookstore and worker cooperative, very similar to the two left bookstores I've worked at before as a volunteer --- Rainbow Bookstore in Madison, WI and Mayday Books in Minneapolis, MN. Stores like Monkeywrench are at the top of my list of bookstores to visit for numerous reasons. I like that they are cooperatives, internally democratic, and that people find meaning and community by working together for a common purpose. Each one of them has a lot of character and history in them, making them fun to visit. And they offer a variety of left-wing books that are difficult to find in one physical place, as well as space for left-learning community groups to meet and socialize.

My last visit to Monkeywrench was in a 2009 trip to Austin. In past visits I've spoken to one of the friendly volunteers about the store, but this time my friend and I just browsed for over a half-hour. I ended up buying a Slingshot organizer and Robert Jensen's All My Bones Shake. When I visit Monkeywrench, I unfortunately have to limit my purchases to what I can fit in my bags for the return trip home, always by train, and Jensen's book and the organizer aren't gigantic in size. (I did think, though, that Jensen's book was a very appropriate purchase given that he lives in Austin.) In just visiting the Monkeywrench website, I noticed that one can donate to the store via Paypal, something I'll do to make up for buying limitation.

Monkeywrench Books
110 E. North Loop
Austin, Texas 78751
(512) 407-6925
www.monkeywrenchbooks.org

About Books (Now Closed)

2009-08-22T16:41:00.006-05:00

NOW CLOSED

A few months ago I finally got around to visiting About Books in downtown Bloomington. For almost a year I thought the store was devoted entirely to antique books, which as I've said before, I don't know much about. Now that I know better, I believe that it's the antique furniture store located right next to About Books that gives the impression that the bookstore is focused on antiques. While the store does have an antique book collection, About Books is a classic used bookstore, the one and only in Bloomington, Illinois, and only one of two independent bookstores in the Bloomington-Normal area.

Back in the summer when I visited About Books, I must've looked around for about an hour at the first floor and basement collections. I remember it having quite a large fiction selection on the first floor and a smattering of non-fiction categories in the basement. In visiting the store for the first time, I was actually on a mission, finding Kant's Foundation of a Metaphysic of Morals. And although the philosophy selection was only a shelf wide (philosophy must not be the most popular topic here in Bloomington), I was actually able to find the book for a buck or two! Take that, Barnes and Borders! And in the process, I actually had a meaningful bookstore experience in beautiful downtown Bloomington, away from the numbing strip mall malaise of Veterans Parkway.

One more part of visiting the store, I remember, is that I got to meet the owner. I can't remember her name, but I learned afterward when visiting the bookstore site that the store is up for sale! If only I had the capital! And I suppose I'd need some experience running a bookstore, that would help!

About Books
221 E. Front St.
Bloomington, IL 61701
309-829-3999
www.aboutbooksbloomington.com

Arise

2009-08-22T15:24:00.006-05:00

[Now out of business, to be replaced by a similar store with a different name]

Arise Bookstore is one of the two left political bookstores in the Twin Cities, the other being Mayday Books which I reviewed in an earlier post. In the years I worked at Mayday Books, I noticed that there was somewhat of a friendly rivalry between the two stores. It might be different now, since Arise seems to change a lot over the years with a high turnover in volunteers, but the common notion was that Arise was more of an anarchist and environmentalist hangout and the Mayday catered more to a wide left community. I would go to Arise once or twice a year to support the store, out of solidarity, but the store community and its political focus wasn't my scene.

One bit of history I always found interesting, told to me when I worked at Mayday, was that Arise Bookstore was a split from the Mayday back in late 80s or early 90s. Accounts differ, but I've heard that the people who eventually became the Arise wanted a political program and be more than a leftist bookstore and community space. I've also heard that the Arise group wanted more organization in the store. Whatever the details, I think most of the Arise volunteers today cannot remember the details of the split. Today the two stores work together in complementary way.

In the times that I have bought literature from Arise, I was impressed with their radical fiction section. In the past their non-fiction selection was a little outdated, but in recent years I think their book ordering has improved.

BookSmart

2009-08-22T15:00:00.005-05:00

Just down the road from Magers and Quinn, and very close to the Uptown Theater in the Uptown district, Booksmart was a major destination for us when we lived in the Twin Cities. My wife and I would find ourselves in Booksmart on Weekend nights, Friday or Saturday night, usually when waiting for a movie to start at Uptown or the Lagoon Theater, after having eaten at the Indian restaurant off Calhoun Square.

Booksmart had a very big selection, like many indie bookstores in the Twin Cities, but its selection was better in academic titles than other stores except the Book House. It had a first floor and a basement. I remember always being drawn to the used liberal arts selections in the basement and buying at least one or books each time.

When visiting Minneapolis this past July, my friend and I didn't stop in. We were running short on time and so I only had time to snap a picture. It's a great store nonetheless and an especially great place to hang out on the weekends between food and a movie.

BookSmart
2914 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55408
(612) 823-5612

Magers and Quinn

2009-08-22T14:27:00.006-05:00

I'm embarrassed to admit that I never visited Magers and Quinn when I lived in the Twin Cities. My only knowledge of the store was that it sponsored Robert Brenner's talk on the Iraq War at the University of Minnesota. (We at Mayday Books thought it surprising that a political bookstore wouldn't have been asked.) So, having heard about the store, I finally made it over for a visit on my recent trip to Minneapolis. My friend Kirk and I browsed the maze of bookshelves of this classic old store. Magers and Quinn is located in a prime spot in the heart of the Uptown area, right on Hennepin Avenue. I can't imagine why I hadn't been there before. My only guess is that it was closed late weekend nights when we happened to be in Uptown or we didn't venture south enough that late.

Magers and Quinn
3038 Hennepin Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-822-4611

Cummings Books

2009-08-08T21:01:00.003-05:00

Cummings Books is an excellent bookstore, located in Dinkytown, Minneapolis, just a few stores down from the Book House (reviewed in the immediately prior blog post). When I lived in Minneapolis, and I would be searching for a particular book, it would be very convenient to look in both of these stores, being so close on the same street. I actually thought that the stores might be owned by the same person, but I now doubt it.

What I liked about Cummings is that it had a very different personality than that of Book House. The books were arranged in a more orderly fashion, with nice clean rows, and from what I remember, without double-shelving. There wasn't the gigantic selection of the Book House, I believe, but I could be wrong about this. They did have a good selection as well. The aesthetics of the store were pleasing, and there were always quite a few animals in the store, cats roaming around, and a few large birds in cages (I forgot what kind). It's definitely a shame that my experience of Cummings is wrapped up in that of the Book House, because from what I remember, the store had a charm and personality (and book selection) all its own.

Cummings Books
417 14th Ave. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
(612) 331-1424

The Book House

2009-07-30T21:00:00.005-05:00

The Book House, in Minneapolis' historic Dinkytown near the University of Minnesota, has got to be the most impressive indie bookstore in the Midwest. That definitely sounds hyperbolic, I know, but its selection is just that amazing. If you're visiting Minneapolis and need a place to go, check out the ginormous Book House and then tour the Dinkytown business district. With its cafes and college life, the Dinkytown is a little respite from the all-too-typical Minneapolis scene. (Back in the day, Dinkytown was Bob Dylan's hangout. According to the Book House website, Dylan lived in Dinkytown for a year, calling it the University of Dinkytown.)

I just visited Minneapolis this past summer, after having moved from there last year, and I must admit that I didn't have time to visit the Book House this time around. (I did visit Dinkytown and get its picture, though.) Nonetheless, in the seven years I lived in Minneapolis, my favorite place to shop for books was the Book House. In every genre, their selection was gigantic, especially in the academic categories in the basement. It seems like they outgrew the store space many years ago, now that books are actually double-shelved. Double-shelved? Behind each row of books is another row, sometimes with more rows on the floor, which I have to say, was equally frustrating and impressive. My memory was that almost any important academic work could be found in the store, and my principle when I lived there was to always check the Book House, and the Cummings next to it, before resorting to the anti-union Barnes and Borders. One time, I remember, I needed a book for one of my teacher preparation courses, a popular title called The First Day of School (or something similar), and I thought I'd give Book House a try before resorting to one of the corporate outfits, Sure enough, it was there, used and less expensive, and I didn't have to inadvertently support a union-busting company!

In thinking about the Bookhouse, and the many first-rate indie bookstores in Minneapolis, I'm reminded that many people in the town, when answering one of those Best of the Best surveys in the local papers, hardly ever vote for these stores. Sometimes a Book House, or a Magers and Quinn, gets to the top of the list or an honorable mention, but so many people vote year after year for one-size-fits-all stores like Barnes and Borders. In my view, stores like Book House should be heading those lists every year.

The Book House
429 14th Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
(612) 331-1430
www.bookhouseindinkytown.com

The Bookends

2009-07-27T09:50:00.007-05:00

I found Bookends during a stopover in Menomonie, Wisconsin, visiting my friend and his family, during their family reunion, as I made my way north to Minneapolis. I was doubtful that there would be an independent bookstore in town, given Menomonie's size. The store is nicely located in the heart of the small downtown, right across the street from the incredibly beautiful, ornate Mabel Tainter Theater.

My friend and I browsed for quite a long time in Bookends and spoke to the new owner of the store. She was an ESL teacher, which is my own occupational calling, and so was quite knowledgeable about a new book written by a Hmong immigrant on her experiences moving to the United States. (I forgot the name of the book, but it especially interested me that the author was raised in St. Paul and went through that city's ESL program as a child.) The store owner was also very knowledgeable about literature in general and the business of selling books. She showed my friend some peace posters, which he bought for his classroom, and provided some insight on being a new bookstore owner in a small town.

In its small-town charm, Bookends reminded me somewhat of the one I had just visited in Viroqua. Very cute, laid out for comfort. The store had a broad array of genre categories, being strong in a few of them. It seemed to me that the owner had very good taste in buying some strong current titles. I also noticed that the store advertised a series of book discussion groups, a nice community service. I ended up buying Jeremy Rifkin's The Biotech Century: Harnessing the Gene and Remaking the World. If I'm ever in Menomonie I'll definitely stop back. I have no idea if the town has a Barnes and Border, but if so, I'd recommend skipping the corporate monoexperience by visiting Bookends and then taking a tour of the amazing Mabel Tainter Theater across the street.

The Bookends
214 East Main Street
Menomonie, Wisconsin 54751
(715) 233-6252
http://www.thebookends.com/

Bramble Books

2009-07-25T09:20:00.009-05:00

In my recent trip to Minneapolis, I did a little traveling through Wisconsin on the way north, stopping off in Madison for a day, and then I drove through the beautiful driftless region and spent some time in the wonderful town of Viroqua. Viroqua blew me away. I spent my high school years in Tomah, Wisconsin, a small and very conservative town only about an hour from Viroqua. In the 1980s and 90s, Tomah lost its main street community to Wal-mart (and the north side of town generally), and in true Republican spirit, prided itself as being the home stomping grounds of Tommy Thompson. So, the progressive town of Viroqua - filled to the brim with liberal environmentalists, progressive naturalists, libertarian Do-it-yourself survivalists, practitioners of eastern philosophical schools, organic and family farmers, independent business owners, co-ops of every imaginable stripe - is indeed an oddity in rural conservative Wisconsin. As my friend put it, there must be an enviro/organic/co-op/libertarian revolution going on there in Viroqua!

What got me visiting the town, besides my memory of its scenic beauty when I visited the place in December 1989 as part of a tour in the La Crosse Youth Symphony, was the independent bookstore in town, Driftless Bookstore. I first heard of Driftless on Facebook, mentioned by an old high school acquaintance who now lives in the town. By its website, Driftless appears to be quite large, both its store and its online business. However, its public presence leaves a little to be desired. For days prior to my arrival in Viroqua, the website was down and it was difficult to find an address for the store. I knew that it would be closed on Sunday and Monday, and so I wouldn't be able to visit, but I thought that I would at least be able to see the store from the outside. But, no luck, the store is very hidden inside a public market and not visible from the outside. It was actually very difficult to locate and I only surmised its location by using my GPS and inferring that the sign that said "books" on the outside meant a bookstore was in the vicinity. I'm sure I'll visit Viroqua again someday, perhaps as a vacation spot, and Driftless Books will be on my sightseeing list.

This time around, however, I did visit a bookstore in town in the time I was exploring Viroqua, Just down the street from Driftless, well situated on Main Street, is the Bramble bookstore. Bramble is very typical of small-town bookstores, having a small but respectable collection of new books on popular topics and a friendly, small town atmosphere. I noticed that it had big Do-It-Yourself sections that focused on gardening, farming, woodworking, etc., as well as good self-improvement selections such as parenting, nutrition, etc. The collection was broad, having the categories of sports, outdoor activities (especially those popular in the region), and local and regional history. Other sections, such as the fiction and political sections, were much smaller, containing a limited selection of popular titles. And the person working the store, perhaps the owner, was very friendly. Overall, it was nice to see a bookstore of such small-town charm. Only in Viroqua, with a population little over 4,000, would it be possible to have two independent bookstores!

Bramble Booksellers
117 South Main Street
Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665
(608) 637-8717
www.bramblebookstore.com

Driftless Bookstore
215 South Main Street
Viroqua, Wisconsin 54665
(608) 627-1132
www.driftlessbooks.com

A Room of One's Own

2009-07-19T09:31:00.005-05:00

My last stop on my tour of Madison's downtown indie bookstores was a Room of One's Own, a well-known Feminist bookstore just off State Street on Johnson Street. Back in the early 90s, A Room of One's Own - named after Virginia's Woolf's 1929 essay of that name - was my first experience visiting a bookstore specializing in women's and GLBT literature, and so is high on my personal list of special bookstores in the United States.

I noticed immediately upon entering the store that it had changed a great deal since the early 90s when I had last visited. In the entrance, the store provided information on events, store events and community happenings, in addition to the regular newspaper offerings found in Madison. The store itself was very well-organized, naturally containing a very well-stocked GLBT fiction and non-fiction section, a progressive magazine section, and very informational categories on progressive parenting, health, and other interesting topics. What also impressed me about the store was its very comfortable layout, mostly its wide aisles and areas with comfortable furniture where you could read the books and magazines. I looked for awhile for two authors that I might be able to find there, and even though I didn't find them, I'm sure the bookstore would've ordered them for me. In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and left with an opinion of the store even more favorable than I had previously.

A Room of One's Own Feminist Bookstore
307 W. Johnson Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
(608) 257-7888
www.roomofonesown.com

Avol's Books

2009-07-15T20:50:00.007-05:00

Avol's Books, off State Street in Madison, Wisconsin, is a very large used bookstore with a decent collection of books, especially academic titles. The first thing I wondered in visiting the store was why I had never visited this store when I lived in Madison in the 90s. And strangely, I couldn't even remember if the store was there in the 90s! This time around, now in 2009, I was actually trying to locate A Room of One's Own and happened to come across Avol's first. Well, what the hell, I thought, I might as well enter and check the place out. I can't believe I would say this, but State Street seems to have almost too many independent bookstores! How can they all survive?!

In entering Avol's, the person working the front desk asked for me to take off my backpack and place it behind the counter. I don't have a knee-jerk reaction against this requirement, understanding that there might be problems with shoplifting. And it was nice not having to cart that huge backpack around as I browsed! I asked the front counter person if this was a new store, out of my ignorance, and she said it had been there as Avol's for five years and before that it was Canterbury's. Yeah, that's right, Canterbury's! (I asked an old Wisconsin friend why we had never visited Canterbury's, and he thought that in our youth the store might have given off a bourgie feel that would have turned off our radical sensibilities. Probably so.)

In browsing the titles, I wished I would've visited in my youth. The store was big, like all Madison indies. Indeed, living in downtown Madison, there would be no need for visiting the Barnes and Borders. State Street alone has, at the least, 5 quality indie bookstores! And that doesn't include other niche stores, such as Shakti, a store specializing in spirituality. Besides the very big collection at Avol's, including a rows and rows of academic titles, I noticed that it has a community life with talks and discussions. All in all, it seemed like a nice store.

Avol's
315 W. Gorham Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
(608) 255-2730
http://avolsbookstore.com

Browzers Bookshop

2009-07-15T20:34:00.005-05:00

When visiting Paul's bookstore on my recent trip to Madison, I couldn't believe that there was another bookstore next to it! How could there be two bookstores in such close vicinity? As it turns out, once you enter the next door building, there is the Underground Textbook Exchange in the basement and Browzers on the third floor. I'm not sure how the Underground Textbook Exchange is related to Browzers above it. I assumed, probably incorrectly, that it was the same business; otherwise there are three independent bookstores in the same vicinity!

I easily found my way up to the third floor to visit Browzers; the textbook exchange in the basement was closed, I think. At the very least, it didn't seem like the elevator went to the basement. I browzed Browzers for about a half hour. The store was fairly large, well-organized, selling mostly used books. Like many newer bookstores, it had a very cool and clean feel to it. I imagine that the air-conditioner had something to do with that feel. At the counter as I checked out, I happened to see an old Shakepeare's Books sign and I asked the cashier if the store was related to the old Shakespeare's that used to be on the capitol square in the 90s. Sure enough, they had just moved, explaining the close proximity to Paul's. Turns out that the owner (the son of the original owner?, I can't remember) decided to change the name back to what it used to be called way back when. So, in case you are wondering whatever happened to Shakepeare's on the square, it is now Browsers on State.

Browzers Bookshop
668 State Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
(608) 255-5521
www.browzersbookshop.com

Rainbow Bookstore

2009-07-05T22:47:00.006-05:00

Rainbow Bookstore is my favorite bookstore in Madison, so of course I had to stop in and check it out again. From what I remember, Rainbow broke away from Peoples' Bookstore back in the early 90s, right before Peoples' closed shop. My connection to Rainbow was mostly that I was an occasional customer, but I also volunteered for a little while for the store for a very short while in the mid-90s. I remember, as well, of a meeting we had in the basement of the store, a small and dank space that wasn't the most conducive for a meeting. But I imagine, with their expansion a few years back, that meetings are now held in the main store, perhaps in the extra space where they sell UW textbooks.

From these memories of Rainbow, I was later motivated to volunteer at Mayday Books in Minneapolis. Rainbow is the sort of community space, centered around books, that sold me on the importance of independent businesses in the community, especially collectives and cooperatives. Through the years I've been impressed by the level of organization and sophistication of Rainbow. They must do a lot of online business, having their inventory on the website and being members of indiebound.com. Moving in on the textbook sales, competing with the monopolistic and cold-hearted University Bookstore, was also a smart move.

In visiting the store today, I was most heartened to see a number of young people in the store browsing through the collection, especially given the very high number of independent bookstores in the State Street area, all carrying used leftist literature. I was happy to see one sign that the left community in Madison is alive and well and supporting their leftist bookseller.

Paul's Bookstore

2009-07-05T22:03:00.003-05:00

Paul's was my first indie bookstore, back when I was a freshman in college at UW-Madison. The maze-like aisles, the strong scent of thousands of used academic books, the personalized postcards and newspaper clippings on the ends of the wooden shelving, the feeling of semi-ordered chaos. I loved hanging out in Paul's, as well as Peoples' bookstore, a more left-wing variety a few blocks away.

I've been at Paul's from time to time through the years, but visiting now reminded me of my last trip there in the 90s, which was a little peculiar. I can't remember what I bought, but the cashier couldn't get my credit card to work for the longest time and said that striking it on her leg might help. Somehow it worked, and then I used that same card on gas and food on a trip to Texas. Later, in Texas, my card was canceled. I called Chase Bank, and the their representative, thought I was a thief in possession of the card. The bank was suspicious by the card moving south toward Mexico. The accusatory question I remember in the interrogation was "What happened at Paul's bookstore? Something happened at Paul's bookstore."

Paul's has the same feel, the same aesthetic. I'm sure the layout has changed, perhaps where the front counter is located, but it's incredible how a place like Paul's can keep its character through the years, as everyone who has passed through has either changed radically or simply moved away.

Wonderland

2009-07-05T19:35:00.004-05:00

On the way up to Madison and then Minneapolis, as part of my summer vacation visiting friends, I stopped off in Rockford to check out the Wonderland bookstore - an indie specializing in children's books I found on the the indiebound website (www.indiebound.org). It's been a long time since I've been in Rockford, the last time being in 1989 when I came down in high school for a second shot at the S.A.T. For some unfathomable reason, I thought I could find the high school by aimlessly driving around sections of the city. Finally I had to get a map at a gas station, but in driving around for 3 or 4 hours, I got to see quite a lot of Rockford.

Ever since I was very young, in the late 70s to early 80s, Rockford was viewed by many as one of the most unpleasant American cities in which to live. This was largely due to the rust belt deindustrialization that inflicted cities such as Rockford, resulting in large unemployment rates and a gutted economy. (As noted in Michael Moore's Roger and Me, Rockford vied with Flint as the worst place to live in Money magazine.) But in driving around Rockford today, I believe that much of the derision directed to the town had to do with its working-class roots and the corporate attack against workers in this country originating in the early 70s. Sure, I'm sure that Rockford suffered due to the economic policies of the 70s and 80s; the suffering in Flint was more than apparent in Moore's movie. But, just as my impression in '89, Rockford seems like a great town! Straddling the Rock River, it's downtown is very pleasant and the whole metro region is quite large and bustling. And from what I can tell, the people are very friendly. Before finding Wonderland, I stopped in a Subway for lunch, and to my surprise the workers there were extremely interested in what I was reading (Aristotle, no less) and when talking about my union-made shirt (No Sweat, not made in a sweatshop), both were very pro-union. I have to say, just this little conversation alone put Rockford high on my list of places to visit!

As it turned out, though, bookstores in Rockford happened to be closed on Sunday, July 5th. Before even finding Wonderland, I ran into two other indie bookstores nearby, one called Canterbury (of which I couldn't see anything much inside) and the other a religious bookstore, ostensibly Catholic, if the large life-size cutout of the Pope was any guide at all. Both were closed, though. I finally found Wonderland across the street, in another bourgie strip mall across the street. From the outside looking in, the store itself looked like it had a very large collection of children's books, a teacher's gem. It looked very impressive from the outside. As I returned to my car, I thought that I'd love a store such as this when I was in elementary school.

Well, no luck visiting the stores. But, with my very positive experience visiting Rockford, I'll be back someday.

Wonderland
1625 North Alpine Road
Rockford, Illinois

The Sly Fox

2009-07-04T21:50:00.006-05:00

Recently we visited St. Louis for the 4th of July, traveling with friends and seeing the local punk/bluegrass band The Monads at a bar called Off Broadway, eating at some fine establishments, and visiting Left Bank Books. On the way back, traveling back to Bloomington-Normal on Highway 55, we veered into the corn fields to visit the Sly Fox, a small bookstore in Virden, Illinois.

It was a dreary day, which lent a depressing mood to the cornfield countryside. The land around Virden was very flat, all very agricultural except for an upraised open pit strip-mining coal operation somewhere near Girard. We traveled through both Girard and Virden and noticed striking similarities between both towns. Each had a very large square plaza in the center of towns with downtown buildings facing the center of the plaza, an unusual outlay for a Midwestern town. The streets around the plaza were huge, having gigantic parking lots that were actually part of the street. Given the small size of the towns, the downtown areas were somewhat vibrant with many businesses. We did notice, as well, that we were in bible country. There seemed to be a good number of churches, signs decrying abortion, and signs - both suble and overt - of fierce nationalistic tendencies.

We drove non-stop through Girard, but we stopped in Virden to visit the Sly Fox. The bookstore was on the plaza square, and surprisingly, it wasn't the only bookstore in town. Another store, Books on the Square, was very close, but it was closed and we could only look inside through the front door, seeing that it was largely a small bookstore selling used books. My wife and I browsed the Sly Fox for about 30 minutes or so. It has a lot of children's lit, and for adults, specializes mostly in the mystery genre, that sort of book you can easily find in the supermarket and is easily found in abundance in used bookstores. My wife called them "beach books," ostensibly meaning what one would read when vacationing on the beach. I have to say that the genre isn't my thing, but the presentation of the books at the Sly Fox, all very colorfully bright and arranged so impeccably on the shelves, made me want to read a few for the sake of curiosity. (In fact, one book I'm reading now, Darkly Dreaming Dexter, probably qualifies as a book of this genre.) There were also some history books, specializing in Lincoln and Illinois figures and topics, as well as some travel-related books on Illinois hiking, attractions, haunted houses, etc. It was a very cute store, located in an Old Highway 66 town that definitely could not fail to arouse one's curiosity.

Left Bank Books

2009-07-04T21:05:00.010-05:00

Last New Years, my wife and I visited St. Louis for the first time and fell in love with the city. St. Louis is a major Midwestern town, with a rich culture and history. We love the friendly atmosphere of the town, its many city attractions, beautiful red brick buildings, and excellent food and beer. Supporting St. Louis is also supporting the underdog. The city has suffered in recent decades along with other rust belt cities from the continuing process of corporate-led deindustrialization. The gutting out of the city, despite recent attempts at gentrifying and "revitalizing" certain areas, is evident throughout many sections with their abandoned brick houses and townhouses. In some areas, so many houses have been torn down, they look like rural country towns. Its metropolitan population is in the millions, and given the much decreased population of St. Louis proper, it's not hard to infer that there has been a massive demographic shift to the suburban nowhere ringing the city.

One St. Louis attraction we visited last January, and just recently visited on July 4th, is Left Bank Books. This bookstore is absolutely gorgeous, located in a cute leafy neighborhood of St. Louis, surrounded by specialty shops. (Both times we visited we had breakfast at Kopperman's across the street and then ventured into the store.) Left Bank Books is a perfect example of how a good indie beats a Double B bookstore - Barnes and Borders. They carry mostly new books, with some very well chosen used texts. Its book selection, especially its new fiction, is outstanding. If I lived in St. Louis, this is where I would shop every week for the latest titles and trends. It has a great magazine selection, a gigantic women's and GLBT section, and many left-to-liberal political titles. I've heard it said on some blog that the Double Bs have declined into a larger version of the Old Waldenbooks, containing nothing but lots and lots of crap. A simple comparison between the popular Double Bs with Left Bank Books reveals the truth of that statement; quality, not quantity, is key.

St. Louis has won my heart, and so has its Left Bank Books.

Left Bank Books
Central West End
399 N. Euclid Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63108
(314) 367-6731
www.left-bank.com

Downtown Branch
321 N. 10th Street
St. Louis, MO 63101

Novel Ideas

2009-06-27T10:04:00.011-05:00

The first thing that struck me about Novel Ideas is its location in downtown Decatur, Illinois. When looking for the bookstore in my car, heading east on E. Main Street, I noticed that I was leaving Decatur's downtown area, and after Decatur's modern-looking library there seemed to be not much left. But, lo and behold, there it was - Novel Ideas - a big island surrounded by an even bigger parking lot sea. After finding the store, I then realized that its location is actually pretty good. Right next to the public library, just a short walk from the downtown, Novel Ideas is the only bookstore in the downtown area. The downtown was impressive for this laid-back small town. Like so many small town main streets, it surely has gone through decline and is now on the rebound. The only missing link is the throngs of people who are currently congregating in the Wal-Marts and Best Buys of the corporate strip mall dystopia.

I took some pictures from the outside before entering the store and then entered from the side. Just like other stores in the area, Novel Ideas has a collection of antiques and memorabilia that fill the side entrance and a good part of that southern side of the store. I noticed some really cool-looking canes, which I could've used for my serious back issues a few months ago, and an entire Green Bay Packers section that would certainly please my many Wisconsin friends.

As soon as the owner working behind the desk saw me, she nicely asked me why I was taking pictures of her store, which I have to admit does seem strange. I told her of my indie bookstore travelogue and its reviews of independent bookstore, which I immediately realized seems even stranger. We talked a little bit about independent bookstores, and she mentioned Babbitt's and About Books in my homebase of Bloomington-Normal. I have to say that I was little embarrassed about having to admit that I hadn't visited Bloomington's About Books yet. I thought it sold antiques exclusively, and as I mentioned in previous posts, the antiques intimidate me. Well, one more indie bookstore in my town to support over the anti-union Double B Bookstore empire. (In my idiolect, the Double Bs = Borders and Barnes & Noble). The owner was very friendly and also knowledgeable on the indie bookstore world. It was worth the embarrassment of getting caught taking pictures of her building.

In size, Novel Ideas is relatively small, but the store holds a fairly big used book collection. I browsed for over a half-hour, attracted mostly to the sections that covered the local history of Macon County, of which Decatur is the county seat. I looked for more recent history of the Staley strike, and other working class histories, but without luck. Of course I should've asked the owner but I'm a little shy! There was a very cute section in the center of the store devoted to local books and writers, and I ended up buying a pictorial history of Macon County for about 20 bucks. There was another section of Illinois history that was pretty good. Overall, the bookstore seems to have a gigantic collection of war histories and testimonials, as well as devotional literature, which just happened to stand out in the assortment. Given my interests, I wasn't too interested in some of these areas and just noticed the titles in passing.

When checking out at the end of my visit, the friendly owner gave me a restaurant recommendation - Pastabilities - a local Italian joint just up the street, and we chatted a little about indie bookstores. I found it interesting that, despite the general decline in indie bookstores, which we both agreed has happened, this owner thought that the Internet wasn't as negative as a factor as I did. She pointed out that many independent stores are selling books online and are able to stay afloat because of the Internet. She mentioned Biblio and ABE Books as the two online vendors used by many. I can't remember if we talked about Double Bs, but my suspicion is that the Double Bs, in combination with the equally anti-union Amazon and its dominance, couldn't have been good for the indie world. Nonetheless, she made me realize that the Internet per se is not the problem; it is the continuing dominance of the Double Bs and Amazon.

Novel Ideas
480 E. Main Street
Decatur, Illinois 62523
(217) 429-1995

Cheryl's Old Book Barn

2009-06-21T19:22:00.009-05:00

On Saturday, June 20, I took a Saturday afternoon trip to Decatur, a small town about 40 miles south of where I live in Bloomington-Normal. Decatur is a special place for me, because a few times in 1994 I came here with SLAC (Student Labor Action Coalition - we called ourselves SLACkers) down from Madison, Wisconsin to support the workers in their strike against the A.E. Staley company. For this trip I was simply visiting some indie booksellers, but I thought I'd swing over to see the Staley area as well.

On my way into Decatur, my first stop was Cheryl's Old Book Barn, located in the small town of Forsyth, population 3284. At first I thought Forsyth was a suburb of Decatur, but because I got lost finding the store, I could easily see that I was wrong. I passed the store coming south and knew I must've missed it when I saw the big box sprawl that extends north of Decatur on the highway. Turning around and heading north again, I noticed that this sprawl has come up right against Forsyth. But the small town environment is still unscathed by Decatur's advance. I ventured inside the town off the highway when I was lost and got to see the town off the highway. Turns out, though, that the Old Book Barn is on the east side of US Highway 51, next to an Indian-owned Phillips 66 convenience store, the Forsyth Convenience Center, which I should say provided me with a Decatur map (my wife took the GPS to Chicago), soda and a restroom for my bookstore visit.

Entering the store, I realized right away that this visit was going to be a new sort of experience. In the front foyer of the store, old knick-knacks and memorabilia were on display for sale, including old furniture and old stuff of all kinds - Campbell soup cans and memorabilia, old Illinois license plates going back to the early 20th century, old cassette tapes and LPs, and much more than I can comment on here. Some people might be tempted to call this junk, but its presence gives the store an old-time charm. Inside there was more memorabilia and old stuff, which I looked at briefly. The memorabilia is found all over the store, organized according to the theme of the type of books sold in an area, scattered in small rooms and disjointed hallways that form a confusing maze of books.

I started browsing the philosophy books and ancient literature books, near the front part of the store, and ended up buying in the end some ancient plays by Aeschylus and Euripedes. After leaving what was a comfortable area for me, I started looking at the extended selection of the maze. The Old Book Barn has quite an extensive selection of used books, and the bookstore itself is extremely large. If I lived a little close, and certainly if I lived in Decatur, I would definitely check here first to see if I could buy it used and support my local bookstore. Besides a good selection of used fiction and ancient texts, the store has complete series of books and magazines. For instance, one area has hundreds of National Geographic magazines. I noticed that it has loads of travel books, all used, and all the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I'm really understating their collection here by picking out what I happened to see.... their selections in detective novels, spy genre, New Age, and women's contemporary are just some of the categories that I noticed having huge selections. There are also rooms that have very old texts, many of which are very obscure, giving you the sense of just how many books have been published through the decades. Some sections qualify as antique collections. For example, I saw some old Princeton University school yearbooks from around 1910, items I happened to pick out in a sea of old texts. I loved the New Age room, a tiny room located somewhere in the back of the maze, in which you could read on an old chair under a fake cobwebbed portrait of man whose eyes had been cut out. Next to the portrait was a warning that the store was watching you in case you had any inkling to shoplift.

As you can see, you really have to visit the Old Book Barn to get a sense of its crazy eclecticism. As I checked out, I came to notice that one of the women behind the counter called another women her mother, and it became apparent that there were two or three generations of family owners working in the store. I asked the person who check me out, maybe she was Cheryl, how long they had the store. 20 years? She was both answering me and asking her family members if that was the exact number. 20 years, and from what I could tell, still going strong.

Cheryl's Old Book Barn
126 South Highway 51
Forsyth, Illinois 62535
(217) 875-0222

Revolution Books (Chicago)

2009-06-16T20:35:00.006-05:00

When in Chicago for the Blues Fest, I wanted to attend a progressive indie bookstore, since I never had visited one before in Chicago. The store closest to downtown, and on the "L," was the RCP party bookstore, Revolution Books. I had visited the RCP bookstore in NYC a few years back and was impressed with their political selection. From my own experience and what others have told me, I knew in advance that their members can be a little aggressive, in the way they zealously promote their organization. But, to be fair and nonsectarian, I wanted to judge by my experience at the store; afterall, I've been political before, in a progressive vein, so maybe my activity get similarly construed. Turns out that the day I decided to visit, there was a meeting that morning, before the store was to open, and so people had to decide if I would be allowed to browse or obliged to come back later. I had no problem coming back an hour later, which is what I did. Luckily there was a little coffee shop down Ashland Street where I read and had one too many coffees.

When entering the store an hour later, many RCPers were in discussion after the meeting. I talked to a few folk, got invitations to a discussion the next day on Chairman Bob's latest thinking, and browsed. Everyone was very friendly. The big difference between this store and the one in NYC was in size. The NY store was much bigger, with a huge selection. The Chicago store seemed more focused on party events and party building. One prominent bookstore worker told me that the small selection was not by choice but due to financial constraints.

Of their book selection, I thought their shelf on evolution and atheism was the best, but I couldn't buy any of these books because I was traveling light with just a backpack that was already stuffed. I bought a thin book of poetry, and to be nice, a copy of their newspaper. I have to say, though, that as a leftist myself, I don't subscribe to their camp, which automatically makes me not that interested in much of the RCP offering. But, hey, to each their own.

Revolution Books (Chicago)
1103 North Ashland Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60622
(773) 489-0930

Prairie Avenue Bookstore

2009-06-15T11:36:00.013-05:00

Over the weekend of June 12-14 I was in Windy City for the Chicago Blues Festival, where I stayed at the very nice Youth Hostel in the loop for the entire weekend. My first time heading out to the festival, which involved only a 10 minutes walk from the hostel to Grant Park, I noticed this stately little bookstore called Prairie Avenue Bookstore, a store specializing in books on architecture.

Entering the store, I was a little nervous, not terribly so, but just a tad since architecture is a topic about which I know very little. You can tell as soon as you enter the store that Pabook knows architecture. The books in display cases lining the entrance walls vary greatly and include what I imagine are historical items and antiques, in addition to what would be more appropriate for a layperson like myself. After being asked to have my backpack held behind the front counter (it contained all my clothing, books, and travel toiletries, which would have made stealing impossible even if I were less than ethical, but I understand and agree with this common policy), I freely browsed for about 20 minutes throughout the quite extensive collection. The atmosphere of the store is very plush and elegant, with green the dominant theme, adorned with heavy wooden antique furniture. Right away I noticed that there were three main levels, the front counter level, a second larger level were the majority of books are located, and third level.

I started at the second level and browsed a good number of books. There is no doubt that this is the place to go in Chicago for anything architectural; contrary to the myth that the big boxes have "everything," stores like this are proof that it is best to start with the indies. Many of the books, like art books in general, were very colorful, big, and overall beautiful. I knew that I wouldn't be able to buy any of these books, as I was traveling light with only my backpack that was already stuffed, but I looked nonetheless for that book that would be perfect for me. Books were organized along the walls by architectural designer in some cases, along the back wall there was a section that specialized in books on specific cities. I looked for Bloomington-Normal, to no avail, but I was interested in buying this book on Tucson architecture. If I were still living there, and could see the designs in person, I would've no doubt bought it.

I next browsed the third floor landing, a very small level that contained the books out of print and antiques. The older books didn't take my attention; what did were the huge architectural portfolios and old journals, none of which I touched. I wasn't even sure if you were supposed to touch them, but even if you could, my fear would be that they would disintegrate or tear easily. These old tomes are always very mysterious and intimidating, I feel.

On the first floor, I noticed that there were many books for the specialist and layperson alike, but it catered more to the specialist. There were many new academic books, some I noticed with the focus on green design, and a variety of textbooks. When leaving, I saw somebody ask about a particular volume, no doubt an architect seeking a source for his business or work.

In the end I didn't buy a book from Prairie Avenue, which goes against the indie bookstore code of an old friend of mine: You should always buy something when visiting an indie, even something small. Of course I had the excuse of the stuffed backpack, but I probably could've bought a magazine from the rack I saw upon exiting. Well, there is always next time!

Prairie Avenue Bookstore
418 South Wabash
Chicago, Illinois 60605
800-474-2724 (Toll-Free)

Babbitt's Books

2009-06-11T21:19:00.006-05:00

As you can see by the picture taken of Babbitt's Books, Beaufort Street is a mess! This summer Uptown Normal is under construction, continuing the trend of revitalization that some diehard Normalites feel is ruining their Old Normal. Babbitt's Books is definitely a hold-out of that Old Normal, along with the Coffee House, Mother Murphy's, and other stragglers. Perhaps this picture of destruction is the most appropriate as some establishments, such as Babbitts, try their best to tenaciously hold on.

Babbitt's Books is one of the few independent bookstores in the Bloomington-Normal area. The big box bookstores dominate this town, more than in urban areas where smaller chains and independent stores can find a market. A couple of times I tried to check out Babbitt's, but the closing time of 6:00 on some days foiled my attempt. (I have noticed that the store seems to be open more often in the evening. Summer hours? Their website, otherwise helpful, doesn't post store hours.) Finally, arriving a little earlier one day, I browsed almost the entire bookstore for about 45 minutes or so. Babbitt's specializes in used and old books, and their collection is stacked in very high shelves spread out over three rooms. For a university town, it doesn't have the typical collection of resold academic books that I have seen in Madison and Minneapolis, but its collection is a unique assembly of books that paint an interesting portrait of this small Midwestern town. Its fictions selection is particularly large, and in the side room the nonfiction covers a wide range of topics. I found the some selections to be geared toward the devote, and many of the categories contained old books that were somewhat tantalizingly obscure. I'd love to take more time browsing some of these non-fiction selections, especially that of local history. There is another room in the back, much smaller, that seems to contain older volumes, perhaps antiques. I don't know why, perhaps I was tired or maybe the room intimidated me, but I'll definitely have to check out the back room selection.

In the end I bought Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises. I plan to return to this gem of a bookstore and hope to promote it over the local big boxes. Why not buy used if you can? Babbitt's also promotes a community of book and poetry lovers through their store. Check out their website and blog for a taste.

Babbitt's Books
119 East Beaufort Street
Normal, Illinois 61761
(309) 454-7393
1-888-875-3773
www.babbittsbooks.com

Mayday Books

2009-06-10T21:03:00.009-05:00

Of all the bookstores in the world, Mayday Bookstore in Minneapolis, Minnesota is the nearest and dearest to my heart.

For seven years when I lived in the Twin Cities, I volunteered at Mayday Bookstore every Saturday afternoon, opening the store at 12pm (or sometime between 12 and 12:30, whenever I happened to arrive) and working the 12 - 3pm shift. It was a very relaxing job - no cash register, computer, and since all books were 15% off the cover price, you didn't have to worry about being very exact with the final price. But the reason I volunteered at Mayday had nothing to do with the ease of the job. Mayday Bookstore is truly a community, one that is centered around a cause. At Mayday, the volunteer workers oftentimes give their own money to the store to keep it afloat, reflected in one of their mottos: Not making a profit since 1975.

Mayday Bookstore is a progressive community space, centered around books, but involving much more. Non-profit and volunteered-run, its goal isn't making money. Rather, the bookstore provides progressive activists of the Twin Cities area with a place to meet and congregate, discuss books and ideas, and organize around political issues. To get to Mayday Books, it might be a good idea to get directions first. It is located in the popular West Bank neighborhood, near the university, but unless you approach the area southbound on Cedar Ave. you might not see its basement entrance. The best landmark is Midwest Mountaineering, the block-long sporting goods store on Cedar Avenue. Mayday is in the basement below Midwest Mountaineering, actually below and to the side of this store, facing north toward 19th street.

In entering the store, one notices right away that they are in a vibrant political space. Colorful campaign and issue signs decorate the store, marking the progressive causes of the Twin Cities area, some of which were initiated and organized right from the bookstore. Also affecting the atmosphere, the walls are of gray and damp stone, which exudes the sense that one is in a catacombs. The store's walls are lined with book shelves, reaching to the ceiling, and sporting the political titles of labor, feminism, environmentalism, socialism, anarchism, black history, Native American, and Middle East. In the middle of the store, there is a comfortable maroon sofa, numerous book and card displays, and two large tables in the center where people will oftentimes ruminate over political issues of the day. The experience one has shopping at the store depends greatly on who is there at the time. Sometimes it will be just the volunteer worker at the large desk, immediately beneath the store sign, and your browsing of the store will be mostly quiet and peaceful. At other times, the store is bustling with activity. There may be a meeting going on, large or small, or activists might be informally meeting and discussing plans for the day. Sometimes, there will be a number of people conversing on issues. Only once in awhile does the conversation get boisterous and heated, but it should be said, this was a big draw for me. Not knowing what to expect on any given day is what makes the place so unique!

Even though Mayday Books is a progressive store, everyone is always welcome, no matter their political affiliation. What makes the store so special is the people who work and shop there. It's one of those places in America where community still exists, triumphing over the crass and cold materialism of the chains and larger stores.

Mayday Books
301 Cedar Avenue
Minneapolis, Minnesota 44545
(612)-333-4719
www.maydaybookstore.org
maydaybookstore.blogspot.com

Exploring the world of independent bookstores

2009-06-10T20:00:00.001-05:00

Corey's Independent Bookstore Travelogue is a blog of my experiences visiting independent bookstores across the country. My intention is to give readers a sense of what each bookstore has to offer to the public, and in the process promote independent, aesthetically pleasing bookstores. I believe that each indie bookstore has something to offer, and I will say outright that I will not be reviewing Barnes and Noble, Borders, and similarly large chains - if you've been to one of these behemoths, you've been to them all!