Stepheny Houghtlin's Blog, page 7

L – Leakey Bookshop – Inverness, Scotland

[image error]WELCOME to the letter L and to this year’s theme: BOOKSHOPS

The preservation of historic structures is of great interest to me and so the idea of a bookshop located in Greyfriar’s Hall, which was once St. Mary’s Gaelic Church in Inverness Scotland, is a place I would like to spend hours in. The church was first built in the 17th century and later reconstructed in several periods during the 19th century, Much of the original church framework remains, and the Leakey Bookshop, established in 1979, added an iron spiral staircase to connect the two stories of bookshelves. Leakey’s is Scotland’s largest secondhand bookshop with 100,000 selected volumes, including old and rare copies, as well as antique maps located on the second floor of the building. There are exhibits of local art. With a wood fire, we can sit down at the bistro-style cafe for a delicious home-cooked meal or a cup of tea.

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Let us browse, finding a variety of books on Scottish history, as well as novels and poetry, that are written by some of the U.K.’s most famous residents. Leakey recommends Evelyn Waugh or Robert Louis Stevenson, calling Stevenson a “great writer and a great man.”

 

 

K – Kroch’s and Brentano’s – Paying Tribute

WELCOME to the letter K and to this year’s theme: BOOKSHOPS

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I grew up with books and many of them were brought home by my father from Kroch’s and Brentano’s, the largest bookstore in Chicago and at one time the largest privately owned bookstore chain in the United States. Though closed in 1995, it remains an important part of Chicago’s book history and also to the little girl within me who read and cherished Treasure Island, Black Beauty, Misty of Chincqutee.I want to pay tribute to Kroch’s because they introduced to the bookstore world an amazing template that to this day is used.

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Adolph Kroch, an Austrian immigrant to Chicago, first founded a German-language bookstore in 1907 and later bought out Brentano’s bookstore and merged them into Kroch’s & Brentano’s. Adolph Kroch’s son, Carl Kroch, later took over the business, at a large location on South Wabash Avenue pictured above. Carl Kroch set out to create a new kind of bookstore: light, airy, and comfortable. He realized the selling power of book jackets, so he designed special shelves that tilted to display the books’ full covers, not just their spines. He believed in a partnership between publishers and booksellers, and when his colleague Richard L. Simon, co-founder of Simon & Schuster, told him about a new idea he had for book pricing, Kroch encouraged him to give it a try. Simon recognized that toothpaste selling for 79 cents appeared to be a bargain in comparison to 80-cent toothpaste. He priced his company’s books at $4.95, $7.95, and $14.95 that remains the standard industry practice.

Kroch’s and Brentano’s was said to have the finest selection of art books in the region, and its sales clerks were recognized for their vast knowledge on the subject. One such individual was Henry Tabor, who ran the art department.  The flagship store at 29 S. Wabash had several distinct departments including one run by Alice (Morimoto) Goda which was a mail order center that tracked down obscure out-of-print titles for customers around the world. The store frequently exhibited noted painters’ and photographers’ work on the walls and regularly hosted book signings by major authors. In writing my 2nd novel, Facing East, I honored this flagship store with several scenes worked into the story in thanksgiving for the childhood books purchased at the store. The last of the stores finally closed July 31, 1995.

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J – Brian Jacques – A Bookshop’s Favorite Author

WELCOME to the letter J and to this year’s theme: BOOKSHOPS

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As readers, we have our favorite authors, favorite books, and favorite bookstores. I want to pay tribute to author Brian Jacques in this post for the letter J. Any bookstore worth its salt can place the Redwall series in your hands. Though Jacques died in 2011, he continues to bring customers through the door in search of Redwall.

 “I love book signings: kids waiting in line for you to scribble on their new books, haha!”

― Brian Jacques

Garnering generations of readers, Brian Jacques, the author of Redwall (1987) and some 20 sequels have sold in the tens of millions touching adventure-loving kids all over the world. His formula—a quasi-medieval fantasy setting in which peace-loving mice and other small animals seek adventure and fend off endless attacks by evil foxes, rats, and weasels is an older child’s classic read like A.A. Milne and Beatrix Potter for younger readers. Next time you are in a bookstore, bring home a copy of this book and read it before giving it to a child in your life.

CLICK HERE to view a charming animated clip from the Redwall series

“In our imaginations, we can go anywhere.                                                                                       Travel with me to Redwall in Mossflower country.” ― Brian Jacques

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For you book collectors:  The 10th Anniversary celebration of Redwall in 1997, the original publisher of the series, Hutchinson, re-released Redwall in a special collector’s edition in the UK. The hardcover book was bound in green leather with a pictorial front board and included new illustrated color plates. The book also retained Gary Chalk‘s original chapter illustrations. It is sometimes referred to as the “Redwall Illustrated Collector’s Edition”.

 

If you have a favorite author whose last name begins with J, and can be found in most bookstores, please share it below in the Leave a Comment section. Thank you.

I – mc I ntyre’s Bookstore – Pittsboro, NC

WELCOME to the letter I and to this year’s theme: BOOKSHOPS

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I’m an only child and have been known to bend a rule now and then. This is one of those times. I’m saving the letter M for Mystery Bookstores, but I have to write about McIntyre’s which is “down the road a piece” from Chapel Hill, NC. Therefore, I am playing down MC and playing up the letter I.  This is an amazing destination for book lovers…. as rewarding an experience as playing golf at Pinehurst, NC or sitting in the Dean Dome on UNC’s campus to watch a basketball game. Here is a staff who KNOWS books. Click Here: for a quick Video

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In Fearrington Village, where McIntyre’s is located, you find a crown jewel situated in the countryside of Chatham County with a five-star inn, surrounding shops, gardens and the famous belted cows that look like saddle shoes. With your bag of books sitting at your feet, you can enjoy a meal under a pergola, the bees humming in the nepeta. This is peace.

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Whenever I can visit McIntyre’s,  I always head to the room housing one of the best mystery selections available. Books in hand, I wander into the enchanting children’s section. But in my estimation,  I feel the heart of the store beats behind the counter where you will find Keebe Fitch, manager, and Pete Mock, the mystery expert, or Sarah Carr, the children’s guru. Here a running dialogue takes place, questions answered, books recommended, the love of a favorite author shared. This fabulous environment offers the camaraderie only book lovers share.

H – Hay-on-Wye Bookstores – Wales

WELCOME to the letter H and to this year’s theme: BOOKSHOPS

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Often described as the “the town of books,” – “Hay,” is a small market town and community in the historic county of Brecknockshire in Wales.

Take a minute and watch this youtube video for a visual introduction to a place where bookstores abide.            Click Here:[image error]

Here is a quote from Paul Collins’ book that I highly recommend for everyone who loves books.  Sixpence House-Lost in a town of books. “In the bookshops, you will find “in stacks, in boxes, on shelves, on slippery collapsed snowdrifts of paper, and bindings that spill out into the aisles, labeled and unlabeled, priced and unpriced, books, books, books.” 

At one time as many as forty bookshops joined 1500 residents, four groceries, 5 churches, a newsagent and one post office. Which brings me to Richard George William Pitt Booth, (born 12 September 1938), a Welsh bookseller, known for his contribution to the success of Hay-on-Wye, a center for second-hand bookselling. He is also the self-proclaimed “King of Hay”. He arrived in Hay 1962 and the rest of the story predates today’s entrepreneurial world where with an idea, creativity, and hard work, businesses are created in a place the entrepreneur wants to live. Besides Booth’s, there is The Cinema Bookshop, Mark Westwood Books, AddymanBooks, the later not a large shop, but author Paul Collins, who worked at Booth’s, says Westwood has discernable taste behind its selections of old biographies, science texts, and medical journals.Besides the bookstores along Charing Cross Road, I wish we could meet in Hay and buy books!

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BOOTH”S

 

 

 

If you aren’t planning a trip soon to this book mecca, I will leave you with a blurb on the Sixpence House that is a wonderful armchair travel experience.  “For Anglophiles and bibliophiles alike: an entrancingly entertaining book that touches on everything to do with books: publishing, authorship, the antiquarian book business, obscure books reintroduced to a new public, and above all, the town of books: Hay-on-Wye.”

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G – The Grolier Poetry Bookstore – Cambridge, MA

WELCOME to the letter G and to this year’s theme: BOOKSHOPS

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The Grolier Poetry Bookstore  6 Plympton St. Cambridge MA 617-547-4648

I used to read poetry to my children when they were young, lines like….Little Orphan Annie came to our house to stay, to wash the cups and saucers and sweep the crumbs away or…. They’re changing the guard at Buckingham Palace, said Christopher to Alice. Poems about Lincoln and battles and always Longfellow’s,  The Children’s Hour.

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I have you fast in my fortress,

And will not let you depart,

But put you down into the dungeon

In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,

Yes, forever and a day,

Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,

And moulder in dust away!

“The Grolier” is an independent bookstore on Plympton Street near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Its focus today is solely poetry. A small one-room store, it lays claim to being the “oldest continuous bookshop” devoted solely to the sale of poetry and poetry criticism. The Grolier Book Shop was founded in September 1927 by Adrian Gambet and Gordon Cairnie. Louisa Solano purchased and took over its operation in 1974 after Cairnie’s death. The Grolier Book Shop became the Grolier Poetry Book Shop, Inc. in 1990. One of my favorite poets, Anais Nin, visited the store. In April 2006 Ms. Solano sold the Grolier Book Shop to Ifeanyi Menkiti, poet, and professor of philosophy at Wellesley College.

The Grolier continues to advance the cause of poetry, expanding on the foundation laid by the previous owners. Part of the store’s mission is to develop further interest in poetry among a wider more diversified audience. Through the sale of poetry books and the organization of poetry events, The Grolier promotes the written and spoken art of poetry and continues to create a nourishing environment for the works of poets. I love poetry and find it a balm for the soul. I’m not sure if my tastes fit with today’s poets and readings, but I am grateful that Grolier’s is holding down the fort when it comes to the genre of poetry.

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Risk

And then the day came,

 when the risk

 to remain tight

in a bud

was more painful

than the risk

it took

to blossom.

-Anais Nin

F – Flourish and Blotts Bookseller -Diagon Alley-London

WELCOME to the letter F and to this year’s theme: BOOKSHOPS

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J.K. Rollings’ Harry Potter series changed the reading life of millions of people. Parents began reading to their children again. I have grown grandchildren who are rereading the series. Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore in Harry Potter, is one of the most famous bookshops in literature.

Flourish and Blotts Bookseller is a bookshop on the North Side of Diagon Alley, about halfway down the street on the left-hand side. Established in 1454, it is where most Hogwarts students including Harry, Ron, and Hermione, purchase their schoolbooks.The shop is filled with shelves stacked to the ceiling. The bookstore was briefly closed during the summer of 1991 while dealing with an outbreak of bookworms.

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The bookstore will take advance orders for books that are in high demand, such as The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. The shop holds occasional book-signings. (See photo below when Gilderoy Lockhart and Harry Potter at a signing in 1992.  I hope you will visit Flourish & Blotts soon.                   Here are a few of the books on inventory:      *The Book of Charms & Spells

A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration (1 Galleon)

Magical Drafts and Potions (2 Galleons)

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection (1 Galleon)

A History of Magic (2 Galleons)

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Flourish & Blotts Booksellers is a destination we all enjoy in our hearts and imaginations.

E – Elliott Bay Bookstore Company – Seattle, WA

WELCOME to the letter E and to this year’s theme: BOOKSHOPS

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Elliott Bay Book Company 1521 10th Ave  Seattle, WA  206-624-6600

The subject of bookstores in Seattle is an interesting one. A survey ranks Seattle as the country’s second-most literate big city as measured by the number of bookstores, library resources, newspaper circulation and education. Seattle loves books and bookstores.  While preparing to write about Elliott Bay Book Company,  I took a moment for an update on McCoy Books in Seattle; a fabulous bookstore I visited and then featured in a scene in my second novel, Facing East. My google search came up empty. It’s gone! As a nod to the small independent bookstores that know their books and customers, I am glad I included McCoy’s in the novel.

“Downtown Seattle was clearly a thriving place for a bookstore” –  Facing East

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Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle is located about a mile from Amazon’s headquarters. You know that a certain amount of tension exists between Amazon and the Elliott Bay Books of the world. But, the bookstore’s profits have increased partially due to Amazon’s employees and families. Even a bookstore will benefit from the thousands of tech workers Amazon has hired at its downtown headquarters. Amazon, like other large companies located in urban areas, help bolster the economy. It draws other investors into the area who are looking for a vibrant, interesting place to live. This energy creates investment and new businesses. The aphorism credited to John Kennedy….a rising tide will lift all boats – can happen.

Let us celebrate a great, full-service bookstore, located in an architecturally interesting space.  Elliott Bay Book Company is an important part of the Seattle book world. When people consider relocating, part of what they look for is a sense of place, fair taxes, good schools and healthcare, cultural assets. Bright, energetic, community-minded people always look for a bookstore like Elliott Bay. Here is a wonderful architectural setting, a wonderful city, Seattle, and wonderful booksellers who are good stewards of the book world…our passion.[image error]

D – Dog Ear Bookstore and Cafe – Buffalo, NY

WELCOME to the letter D and to this year’s theme: BOOKSHOPS

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 Dog Ears Bookstore and Café   688 Abbott Road Buffalo, NY   716-823-2665

Until now, the weathermen on TV have defined Buffalo, NY for me with images of horrendous winter storms paralyzing the city.  How grateful I am that a bookstore has broadened my appreciation for what was a center of trade in one of the largest and richest cities in the country. One of my passions is architecture and due to the influx of wealth in Buffalo, a treasure of architectural gems stand today. The city is home to the early works of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Once one of the world’s largest office building, Ellicott Square Building is in Buffalo and Guaranty Building, one of the world’s first skyscrapers is a fine architectural tribute to the city. Buffalo is enjoying a resurgence, and what better indication of this than the Dog Ears Bookstore & Cafe located in the Abbott McKinley Neighborhood.

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Here we find knowledgeable people who will help us find everything from new releases to old classics, with titles for a range of ages and audiences. I am green with envy that they have six-week Adult Writers Seminars and support the creativity of the community in this welcoming atmosphere. The addition of a cafe with the bookstore spells P e r f e c T to me. Dog Ears obviously loves children and provides activities along with an introduction to the world of reading and books. Their lives will be forever changed because of this. Dog Ears has become an integral part of the Buffalo scene. Fantastic!

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There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully                                                        as those we spent with a favorite book.  -Marcel Proust

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C – Charing Cross Road Bookshops – London

WELCOME to the letter C and to this year’s theme: BOOKSHOPS

THE BOOKSHOPS ALONG CHARING CROSS ROAD IN LONDON

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I was about to step off the curb when a hand touched my elbow and restrained me. An English gentleman cautioned me, “I wouldn’t do that, love, it makes such a mess at rush hour.” I have never forgotten this moment, the good humor of it all, and a reminder that traffic in London flows the ‘wrong’ way for an American. This story is forever linked with my walk to Charing Cross Road where I hoped to find Anthony Hopkins at Marks & Co. and the works of Beverley Nichols, English garden writer.

Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus and then becomes Tottenham Court Road. Charing Cross Road is renowned for its specialist and second-hand bookshops. The section from Leicester Square Underground station to Cambridge Circus is home to specialist bookshops, and more general second-hand and antiquarian shops such as Quinto Bookshop, Henry Pordes and Any Amount of Books.

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Above…Please take a moment and listen to the Anthony Hopkins video I have linked for you.  It will allow you to “see” the bookshops along Charing Cross Road. When I listened once again to  Hopkins’ reading the Yeats short poem, my memories of book hunting along Charing Cross Rd, I shed a tear for the bookstores there that have closed. (Rising rents affected the bookstores that occupy many of the ground floors of the buildings.)  For heaven’s sake,  Marks & Co bookshop is now a pub. Blimmy! When in London, don’t miss visiting this book mecca. You will be surrounded by the spirits of all those who have walked the street before you…..enjoy![image error]