Abstract Books Monthly Newsletter
Volume I No. 2
September 2024
This month the focus is on community bookstores around the world. We begin with a spotlight on Tomorrow Bookstore located on Mass Ave. in Indianapolis, Indiana. If you have ever considered opening your own bookstore, be sure to check out the books by and about bookshop owners. Finally, what better inspiration than famous bookstores around the world!
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Spotlight on independently owned and operated bookstores in Indiana.
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There are many voices of experience when it comes to operating a bookshop, or even a book town as in Larry McMurtry's (June 3, 1936 – March 25, 2021) 66,518-square-foot Booked Up in Archer, Texas. Also thrown into the mix are a few titles about writing your next chapter.
"Bookstore: The Life and Times of Jeannette Watson and Books & Co." by Lynne Tillman
"Complete Guide to Starting a Used Bookstore: Old Books into Gold" by Dale L. Gilbert
"The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book" by Wendy Welch; I love the tales of how Wendy (from central Appalachia) and her husband Jack (from Scotland) persevere to become a cornerstone of their community
"In Praise of Good Bookstores" by Jeff Deutsch
"The Little Paris Bookshop" by Nina George; translated by Simon Pare
"The Bookshop Book" by Jen Campbell
"Books: A Memoir" by Larry McMurtry
"Biblio: The Intimate Confessions of a Used Book Dealer" by Ralph A. Casperson (visit Casperson Books in Niles, MI)
"J. K. Lilly Jr. Bibliophile" by Joel Silver, Director of the Lilly Library, Indiana University Bloomington campus
"Old Books, Rare Friends: Two Literary Sleuths and Their Shared Passion'"by Leona Rostenberg & Madeleine Stern
"Maybe You Should Write a Book" by Ralph Daigh
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Famous Independent Bookstores (Not an exhaustive list by any means!) each with a unique personality and as Heywood Hill touts, “dedicated bibliophiles who understand the importance of matching the right book with the right person. We offer a range of tailored literary services, all marked by old-fashioned courtesy and good humour.”
New York City
The Strand - Est. 1927, 18 miles of books
Portland, OR - Pearl District
Powell’s City of Books - Est. 1971, the largest used and new bookstore in the world, occupying an entire city block in downtown Portland; nearly one million books in nine color-coded rooms, over 3,500 different sections
Boston, Massachusetts
Andover Bookstore - Founded in 1809, is the oldest independently owned and operated bookstore in the U.S.
Brattle Book Shop - Est. 1825, specializes in antique and out-of-print books
Detroit, MI
John K. King Used & Rare Books - King began selling books out of his 1954 Packard trunk, now has over a million titles on four floors; map supplied to navigate the store
Philadelphia, PA
Hakim’s Bookstore & Gift Shop - Est. 1959 when Dawud Hakim went from selling books out of his car trunk to selling them off store shelves; the first and oldest Black-owned bookshop on the East coast, named a historical landmark August 2023
Westchester, PA
Baldwin’s Book Barn - Est. 1934; 4 floors, 300,000 used and rare books, manuscripts, maps, fine prints, maps, more
Pasadena, CA
Vroman’s Bookstore - Est. 1894, Southern California’s largest independent bookstore
London, England
Heywood Hill - Georgian townhouse located on Curzon St. since 1936; awarded the Royal Warrant in 2011 by Her Majesty the Queen
Daunt Books for Travellers - Marylebone High Street location is the original Edwardian cathedral-like building
Yorkshire, UK
K Books Ltd. - Est. 1964 by Sue and Barrie Kaye; offering used and antiquarian books, antique portraits and maps
Porto, Portugal
Livraria Lello - Built in 1906, beautiful stained glass skylight
Paris, France - close to the Champs Elysées
Librairie Auguste Blaizot - Founded 1840, famous antiquarian bookshop selling Illustrated books, First Editions and decorative bindings in a 1930s atmosphere
Wales
Hay-on-Wye (‘Hay’) - World-renowned “Town of Books” with more than 20 bookshops, located on the border between England and Wales