Independent Bookstores: Piedmont Avenue

March 7, 2014 ~ Alina ~ 4 Comments

It’s been a while since I reviewed any independent bookstores, but boy, do I have some good ones for you today.

The motivation behind my birthday adventures to Oakland several weeks ago was largely the concentration of independent bookstores on Piedmont Avenue. There are at least four. Mere blocks from each other. It was perfect.

First up: Owl and Company Bookshop. The shop is owned by Michael Calvello, who has another shop in San Francisco and specializes in antiquarian books. Owl and Company is the quintessential independent bookstore. This is why.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lining both walls. Ladders (even if they’re not sliding ones).

And all the old books even my heart could desire. Well–at least for a while.

There was even a vinyl record of Viennese Waltzes providing ambience.

And a wooden owl keeping watch.

Next up: Book Zoo and Issues, next-door neighbors. Much smaller than Owl and Company, Book Zoo has an eclectic, slightly outdated collection of books on adult topics, politics, and environmental issues. Their website has a very intriguing compilation of other independent bookstores in the area.

Issues is more of an independent magazine shop, although there were a few books as well as eclectic print materials (including a large variety of greeting cards).

Their outdoor sign was also unique and charming. Perhaps I ought to advertise this way?

Finally, Spectator Books. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, and the display in the front room is all new books, which I don’t find quite as interesting as used ones. But what’s special about this shop is that it’s bigger on the inside.

In this veritable labyrinth of books, hallways lead to rooms, which lead to more rooms, which lead to nooks and crannies, all lined floor to ceiling (and then some) with books. Note to self: I should never face the temptation of Spectator Books (or any shop like it) alone. If my mom hadn’t diligently dragged me out when our parking meter expired, I might still be there. I bought a copy of Princess Academy by Shannon Hale as a souvenir.

I hear there’s also a fifth bookshop on the avenue called Black Swan. Sadly, I didn’t make it that far. Guess I now have an excuse to make a return trip.

Canyons

June 14, 2013October 25, 2015 ~ Alina ~ 4 Comments

Canyons are a bad idea.

As my family and I roadtripped around the American Southwest at the end of May, we saw a lot of them. They’re fissures in the earth, weird yawning abysses. I thought of Dante’s Inferno or C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce. In fact, it looks like I wasn’t the only one:

A sign from the Grand Canyon shuttle route

Canyon hiking is an especially bad idea. Besides the abnormal elevation at the rim, the increasing temperature as you descend, the arid landscape that sucks out your body moisture, the sheer drops at every turn, the risk of poisonous snakes and scorpions, possible claustrophobia, and rapidly changing weather conditions, you have to deal with this fact:

Down is optional, up is mandatory

Unlike with mountain hiking, in a canyon you hike downhill first, while you’re fresh. But you’d better hike to only about 1/3 of your energy–because then it’s twice as hard to come back up. When you’re already tired.

So canyon hiking is a really bad idea.

But…

…if we never took risks…

…if we never ran with an idea that might fail…

…if we never did anything just a little bit crazy…

…we’d miss out on this.

Bryce Canyon, Utah

And this.

Grand Canyon, Arizona

And this.

Antelope Canyon, Arizona

Sometimes risks aren’t worth the payoff. And of course you have to plan for them accordingly. But sometimes…maybe unexpectedly…risks can reveal life’s beauty.

Ever taken a risk that made you glad you did?

Independent Bookstores: Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz

May 24, 2013October 25, 2015 ~ Alina ~ Leave a comment

On an avenue lined with bakeries, antique shops, street singers, and delicious coffee stand three little-known gems of the literary world. Today we’re on Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz.

First stop: Bookshop Santa Cruz.

This one’s a mix of new and used books, priding itself on its independence and emphasis on local authors. With a clean, bright interior and an impressive selection, it’s also one of only twelve bookstores nationwide to have an Espresso Book Machine. Okay. This is the coolest thing ever. It’s a machine that prints books on demand, on the spot. You can select from over 8 million titles and have your own copy printed, bound, and trimmed in front of your eyes, or even self-publish your own book. (The link above includes a video of the machine printing.)

Next up: The Literary Guillotine.

Cool sign, right? Considering that Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favorite books, I definitely stood there and snickered at it for a moment.

The Literary Guillotine isn’t located right on Pacific Avenue–it’s just off to the side, at 204 Locust Street (wonder if there’s any symbolism in that). There’s a cute little red wagon containing sale books just outside the door. Unfortunately, I thought the outside was a little cooler than the inside. Maybe I’d think differently if I were still in college–their selection is heavily academic, catering especially to UCSC students. Maybe my brain is getting soft, having been out of school for almost 2 years.

Last, but not least: Logos Books and Records.

Fun factoid: logos (λογοσ) means word or Word, one of my favorite words in Greek (see my blog subtitle). I’m not much of a music person, but Logos Books and Records definitely has a selection–along with a huge variety of paperbacks, hardbacks, bestsellers, and antiquarian books, which hold much more draw for me. Over 40 years old, Logos claims to be the largest independent used books and music store on the central coast of California. On a previous occasion, I found a book on bookbinding here; this time, I bought a copy of Dorothy Wordsworth’s journals, cross-referenced with a selection of her brother William’s poems. After learning about Dorothy while visiting the Wordsworth’s home in England, I was thrilled to find some of her writings. Such “finds” are one of my favorite things about the used bookstore experience–I came out with something I wasn’t looking for, but that adds a welcome “friend” to my collection. Old, obscure, and only $5? Yes please.

At a price like that, I can get coffee too…and enjoy both at San Lorenzo Park across the river.

Have you been to any of the bookstores on Pacific Avenue? Have any reviews, trip stories, or extra information to share? I’d love to hear your comments!

Why Independent Bookstores?

May 17, 2013October 25, 2015 ~ Alina ~ 6 Comments

Though I’ve been a book addict since before I could read and much of my childhood was spent haunting Barnes and Nobles or public libraries, it wasn’t until college that I really discovered independent bookstores.

Here are my top 3 reasons to choose an independent bookstore:

1. Cheaper books

Many independent bookshops stock used as well as new books. As any economist can tell you, when the price of a commodity falls, demand for it rises, because people can afford to buy more of it. Cheaper books=more books on my shelf. Where’s the problem?

2. Charm

Far from the mass-produced commerciality of chain bookstores, with their hygienic, matching stacks of flash-in-the-pan bestsellers, independent bookstores have the allure of individuality and eccentricity. Don’t get me wrong–I love a good multi-story Barnes and Noble with a digitized inventory system (I spent two college summers working in one), or in Britain, a big, clean Blackwell’s or Waterstones. But from the sign over the door to the entrance display of books to the cat in the window, no two used bookstores are exactly alike.

3. Adventure

Chain bookstores have the feel of business parks; independent bookstores are more like house parties with literary friends. You step in and run into someone you know (“Mr. Wordsworth! It’s been too long!”), make some small talk, and pretty soon they’re introducing you to their friends and their friends’ friends (Eco, Joyce, Zusak, I take down on my To-Read list). Next thing you know, you’re exchanging business cards and promising to keep in touch and walking out with a dreamy smile and a stack of “finds” you didn’t know existed an hour ago. (This is why I often leave my credit card in the car when I enter a bookstore.) It reminds me of the movie Midnight in Paris, where if you step into the magic car at midnight, you might be whisked off to sit in Gertrude Stein’s living room and watch Hemingway argue with Fitzgerald. Sometimes I’m so overwhelmed by the collective wisdom and camaraderie that I get teary in front of the fiction section.

Image courtesy of stock.xchng and kaeska

So, to shed some light on these little-known gems (and to give myself an excuse to visit more of them), I’m starting a blog series profiling various independent bookstores, especially those that include used books. Some will be local to my area, some farther afield. While there won’t be a new one every week (I wish), this series will be recurrent as I discover more bookstores. If you read about one you’ve visited, feel free to post your experience with it in the comments section. If there’s one that strikes your fancy, go visit (and let me know how it goes)! Or, best of all, if you have recommendations for bookstores I should cover, I’d be only too happy to hear about them 🙂

Next week: a trio of bookstores on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz…

When I Grow Up, I Want to Be Everything

March 29, 2013October 25, 2015 ~ Alina ~ 6 Comments

Did you do one of these posters in kindergarten?

I did. I remember it well.

In the bottom left-hand corner was a space to write what you wanted to be when you grew up. The walls of the classroom were papered with posters of kids who wanted to be firemen OR police officers OR ballerinas.

I wanted to be ALL of those things. And ALL the rest of the things. In fact, I remember one of my first existential quandaries: if there are only seven days in a week, how on earth will I find enough time to be ALL the things I want to be when I grow up?

The solution, of course, was to have a different job every day of the week. Phew. Solved that one. I would just be an astronaut Monday, a teacher Tuesday, a farmer Wednesday, etc. (Yes, farmer was one of my kindergarten career choices. I blame it on Laura Ingalls Wilder.)

My childhood fantasy

Well, some life happened and I discovered that I don’t particularly like heights, lesson planning, or cow poop. That narrowed down the career choices substantially. Plus, majoring in EVERYTHING in college would have taken me a little more than four years.

But little did I know that some weeks, I would get my kindergarten wish.

Like this week, for example.

Most weeks of my life are pretty interesting. For work, I juggle a balance of tutoring/proofreading/blogging/copy editing/novel writing, and I like doing all those things. But last Wednesday, I added a new job to the mix: knit modeling.

My super-creative friend Audry asked me to model one of her creations for the top-secret book she’s writing. It turned into an all-day adventure that blew desk jobs out of the water. First, we got to ride in the golf cart. Move over, Mr. Toad.

There were also the wild animals–er, interesting features of the landscape. (The heap of sticks on the left, apparently, is a wood-rat nest. The thing in the purple sweater is anybody’s guess.)

Photo courtesy of Audry Nicklin

We needed to find horses for the photo shoot, which ended up entailing half an hour of trekking through backwoods trails (don’t worry, we had permission). But when we found them, it was well worth it. One of them tried to eat the golf cart, but this one just wanted carrots. I ended up getting horse cuddles in the bargain.

Photo courtesy of Audry Nicklin

Laura Ingalls would have been proud.

Does your line of work ever throw you surprise adventures?

(P.S. Audry wrote up her own take on the day. To hear her side of the story, click here.)

Small Magic

January 25, 2013October 25, 2015 ~ Alina ~ 10 Comments

I spent last weekend away at a magical cottage.

My family and I took some much-needed escape time over MLK weekend and tried our luck on an unknown B&B. Nestled in the big trees of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Redwood Croft is far enough away from civilization to be conveniently detached from cell phone and internet service. The owner informed us that a “croft” was a medieval word for a house, like this wood-and-stone manor, with adjoining land for a garden. (Garden might not be exactly the right word for the wild and lovely ramble of native plants that wound around the house.) The grounds begged me to tramp around with my camera.

How do I know it was magical, you ask? Well, it was obvious, my dear Chronicles of Narnia fans. There was a lamp-post in the front yard. As if we’d come from the far country of Spare Oom.

Actually, I knew it as soon as we turned on to the street. It was called Ice Cream Grade.

Not to mention that there was a wishing well in the back. Pre-equipped with wishes.

Maybe not your typical storybook variety of magic, but certainly one that returned me to childhood: the giant trampoline under the redwoods. I hadn’t jumped on a trampoline in years. I quickly rediscovered just how euphoric flying can be.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of some of my favorite memories, such as sitting down to the sumptuous breakfasts served on vintage dishes, with taper candles and white poinsettias on the table (there are a few photos on the B&B’s website). Or curling up to read by the warm woodstove in the evenings, a strand of Christmas lights twinkling just outside the window, a little old dog named Spinner snoring on a sheepskin on the couch.