Used Bookstores Then and Now
I take long walks in my neighborhood in northeast Seattle every day. Recently, however, I had the urge to attempt an excursion beyond the borders of the familiar, so I took a bus to a used bookstore in the University District near the University of Washington campus. I have to admit that it was not without trepidation that I assayed to enter the area, because the last time I had been there the main avenue was filthy and full of drug-addled, panhandling homeless people. I have nothing against homeless people, having been one myself when I was younger, but these groups on the Ave seemed particularly aggressive and menacing. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Ave had been cleaned up; a few quiet individuals sat with their belongings here and there, but the rowdy miscreants had moved elsewhere.
Some people enjoy shopping for clothes, and some for accessories, but the only things I go out of my way to look for are books. I have to purchase shoes from time to time when the soles wear out from those extended walks, but most of the clothes I wear are gifts or hand-me-downs. Books, though: those are the true treasures. My searches for books in Seattle go back to decades ago, when my ex-wife and I were raising our family in Thessaloniki, Greece. When I’d journey to the States for some reason or another, exploring used bookstores would invariably be part of my plan. I would accumulate a long list of books I desired to read and would search for them, and I would also of course peruse the displays for random titles.
On one occasion I was staying at the home of one of my brothers, and it was walking distance from the University District. This was the golden age of used bookstores; I found half a dozen of them in the University District alone. I worked out a route so that I could most efficiently cover them all with the least amount of effort. I brought back an impressive haul of books on that trip.
Later, when I moved to the States with my sons and eventually ended up back in Seattle, one of our favorite activities was to head to Half Price Books in the University District and browse for an hour or so. On our limited budgets, Half Price Books was also our go-to place when we were looking for birthday or Christmas presents for each other. Alas, all the Half Price Book outlets have moved out of the city, and the majority of used bookstores in town have closed.
A few months ago, one of my sons and I drove to Anacortes on our way to Whidbey Island. In Anacortes we found a beautiful used bookstore, spacious and well-stocked. We’d come mainly to explore the state parks on Whidbey Island so we didn’t have much time, but we spent about twenty minutes browsing the shelves and purchasing a few titles. The experience reawakened in me the joy of searching for treasures in used bookstores.
When I got back to Seattle, I decided to seek out more used bookstores within public transportation range (I don’t own a car) and that’s when I discovered the paucity of possibilities. I suppose it has something to do with the ease of finding books online at the ubiquitous retail giant that we shall not name. Still, it left me with a profound sense of loss.
I did find two bookstores within my range, one in Fremont and one in the University District. The Fremont one I visited a few weeks ago. It was a cute cubbyhole with three floors: the top level was devoted to books for children and young people, the middle to classic literature, and the basement, which was reached via a narrow spiral staircase, contained science fiction, fantasies, and mysteries. The bookstore in the University District had only one floor, but it was more spacious and not as cramped. Its selection of titles was excellent. I had brought a short list of items I was looking for, and I found and purchased every one of them.
And so I have already exhausted the used bookstores within my immediate range. I can go back to them, of course, with new lists, and search corners I neglected during my previous visits. I can also look for books at estate sales and thrift stores. It’s not that I want to compile an enormous collection; I don’t have space for it. When I last changed apartments I purged my book stash and gave away many volumes through nearby little free libraries. The joy is in the search and in the occasional discovery of priceless literary gems.
