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
