Your Ideal Bookstore

It's been a long time since I've stepped into a bookstore. I'm not a huge fan of the only one within walking distance, and also... well, I don't get out much.

About twenty years ago I worked at a Books-a-Million near Washington, D.C. I liked the work and I liked the people, but I knew, years before I even took the job, that corporate chain bookstores are not my jam.

Don't get me wrong, I'm overall happy that stores such as BAM! and Barnes & Noble exist. In many, many towns across this country, B&N is a bookshopper's only physical option.

(Though there's obviously a valid counterargument: If B&N didn't exist, mom-and-pop would. But... would they? Does that hold true in 2025?)

There's an early aughts UK sitcom called Black Books that's set in an indie bookstore. The owner, played by comic Dylan Moran, is so misanthropic that he'll happily pass up on a sale rather than interact with a customer who might annoy him. Here's the pilot, if you're interested:

See? Video!

That's more my style. I don't want the bright lights and clean lines of your B&Ns or the sharper indie stores. And I don't want to be in the middle of a mob scene, like at the Strand.

I want old & new; new & used. Not total disorder, not strict order. Let me make some of my own discoveries!

I want lots of wood (snicker); I want the smell of wooden shelves and the smells of old paper and leather and cloth. Random objects inside. Some of my coolest possessions are things I've found in the pages of used books.

And I love used bookstores where I have options for a particular book I want to buy. Do I want this edition with this cover, or that edition with that cover?

There was a bookstore near my old apartment in Milwaukee called Renaissance Books that took it a little too far. It was three or four floors of absolute chaos and no maintenance. The smells were strong; not always in a good way. And eventually the place looked like this:

And then it got worse! Check out this piece for some wild photos.

But hey, at least it had character.

(And a bathroom! Shout-out to my fellow Mariko Aoki Phenomenon-ers.)

OK, that's plenty of rambling (see? disarray!) and a very long leadup to a very basic prompt: Write about your ideal bookstore!

What does it look like? What does it smell like? What does it sell? How is it laid out? What kind of people work there? Shop there?

Or, if you'd rather not imagine something, write about your existing favorite bookstore.

Feel free to send me your response, if you wish. Maybe I'll read a few of 'em out if I do the video thingy.

And if your favorite store is a Barnes & Noble, hey, no judgment from me. I'm just happy you're venturing out to shop for books. That's more than I do these days. My recent book purchases have been from Amazon, so who am I to say shit about anything?

Roundup

WriteByNight coach Joanna Acevedo's new story collection, Small Cruelties (Flexible Press), will land on August 5. Get your pre-orders in now! And read some sample pages at the link.

WriteByNighter Jeffrey Gross has launched a new podcast called Fretful Porpentine in which he and his co-host discuss a piece of classical music that's mentioned in a piece of classical lit. In episode no. 1 they explore a Chopin scherzo referenced by Philip Roth in The Ghost Writer. (Which of course made me think of "Chopin in Winter," the opening story in The Coast of Chicago.)

Speaking of ghostwriters, did you know WriteByNight offers ghostwriting and that we're almost always quietly working on a book or two? Reply to this email if you have an idea and need a writer.

WriteByNighter Bonnie Moore sits down for an interview about her new mystery novel, Buried Bones:

And finally, WriteGirl, an organization in L.A. (and online) that works to empower teen girls through writing workshops and one-on-one mentoring, is seeking volunteers. Apply by August 1.

What Am I Reading? What Am I Writing?

I'm 86 pages into the unexpurgated edition of Sister Carrie. They should've kept some of this shit expurgated, but I'm into it justenough to keep going. After all, there must be some reason it's no. 33 on this Modern Library list of the top 100 novels of the 20th century.

I'm not yet back in the ol' writing saddle. But I will be. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, blah blah blah.

What are you reading?! What are you writing?! Reply to let me know.

The Yaks Are Back!

The boys and I are still on an extended break while we decide what our next steps should look like.

Until then, this seems an appropriate week to revisit some bookstore episodes, including "The Best Bookstores," "Book Fairs and Bookstore Memories," and "Bookstores."

Writerly Quote of the Week

"The reason we write fiction is because it's so much easier to exist spending part of each day in an imaginary world.”

-- Vonnegut