Knocking Around My Favorite Used Bookstore
Wonder Book & Videos is located on W. Patrick Street in Frederick, Maryland. We've patronized their shop for better than 20 years for one reason: they stock good used books we enjoy reading. It's been a blue moon since we last visited Wonder Books, so today we bopped up to Frederick, taking the scenic route.
I brought along my "books wish list," but first let me mention something else really cool. I saw one of MY (by Ed Lynskey) books for the FIRST time in a bookstore. Never mind The Blue Cheer was in a used bookstore and was an ex-libris (old library) copy. So, if you want a decent reading copy of TBC for $2.95, go online and order it from Wonder Books. Buy a bunch. Dare you.
I picked up one of those baskets you find stacked at the grocery stores' entrances. Then we scoured the shelves, and we made a decent haul. I bought hardboiled paperbacks by Philip Atlee (his obit is found here==> http://tiny.cc/a5xlv), Peter Rabe, John D. MacDonald (non-Travis McGee), Dan J. Marlowe (never read before), and Dolores Hitchens (heard good things, but I've never read her before, her Wikipedia entry is here==> http://tiny.cc/sus72).
Anyways, I might write some future blogs on my used bookstore experiences. Hanging out in one is like achieving nirvana, now ain't it, my fellow bibliophiles? You can admit it. We're all of the same stripe here on Goodreads.
Happy reading to you and yours!
By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"The most fun traipsing along the muggy, rugged backroads of Appalachia since Deliverance."
BNBuzz
I brought along my "books wish list," but first let me mention something else really cool. I saw one of MY (by Ed Lynskey) books for the FIRST time in a bookstore. Never mind The Blue Cheer was in a used bookstore and was an ex-libris (old library) copy. So, if you want a decent reading copy of TBC for $2.95, go online and order it from Wonder Books. Buy a bunch. Dare you.
I picked up one of those baskets you find stacked at the grocery stores' entrances. Then we scoured the shelves, and we made a decent haul. I bought hardboiled paperbacks by Philip Atlee (his obit is found here==> http://tiny.cc/a5xlv), Peter Rabe, John D. MacDonald (non-Travis McGee), Dan J. Marlowe (never read before), and Dolores Hitchens (heard good things, but I've never read her before, her Wikipedia entry is here==> http://tiny.cc/sus72).
Anyways, I might write some future blogs on my used bookstore experiences. Hanging out in one is like achieving nirvana, now ain't it, my fellow bibliophiles? You can admit it. We're all of the same stripe here on Goodreads.
Happy reading to you and yours!
By Ed Lynskey
Twitter: @edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles
"The most fun traipsing along the muggy, rugged backroads of Appalachia since Deliverance."
BNBuzz
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Secondhand bookstores are one of my favourites, I sometimes feel I like them more than new bookshops. I love the variety you get in a secondhand store and the chance of finding something out of print is always good, particularly if it's on a list of books that you've been searching for, for a while
Alan wrote: "Secondhand bookstores are one of my favourites, I sometimes feel I like them more than new bookshops. I love the variety you get in a secondhand store and the chance of finding something out of pr..."Hi Alan, First, thank you much for the great review of Lake Charles. I'm thrilled you enjoyed it. Yes, the secondhand shops are great to visit and browse. I'd almost forgotten how much so. The bad economy has driven some of them out of business. But yesterday I saw a guy in front of me write a check for over $100 buying Stephen King novels. Wow. I didn't spend anything near that, but it was good to see readers still value their books. Best wishes, Ed
Randy wrote: "I still have the spiral notebook I used to carry around to bookstores looking for those wants. I kept them by author and and a asterisk by each one as I found it.Because of health reasons, I don'..."
We timed our drive to Wonder Books, and it's almost an hour in moderate traffic. The serendipidy does make browsing used bookstores fun. Thanks for the comments.
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Because of health reasons, I don't get out of the house much anymore and the drive to the nearest used bookstores is a good hour one way. On the plus side, the internet has allowed me to fill in those holes quite nicely.
Still, what I miss most about going to the book store is finding that book you didn't even know you wanted until you ran across it. Those were the bright spots on any visit.