Category Archives: Book (Store) Articles

At the top of 18th Street (which, if you look down, you can see a cool view of the Washington Monument), in the heart of Adam’s Morgan is Idle Times Books, a used book store with ideal hours (10am -11pm everday).  The layout is pleasant, with two stories and a host of rooms.  The selection is limited, but there are some unusual titles mixed in (I was tempted by “Tales of a Shaman’s Apprentice”).  Sections are well marked in neat handwriting, but while I appreciate the oft-repeated notice that unmarked paper-backs are 50% of cover price with a $3 min, there are so many other signs about (no cellphones, Yes We Can… put books back where we found them, etc) that I felt I was being scolded, rather then welcomed for browsing.   Still I appreciate the use of the space (displaying books on steps is a neat, if slightly risky idea), and even found a great book for a Christmas present!

I love the creative use of the space to display additional books!

Idle Time Books

(Visited in November, 2011)

When Ms. Patchett, best-selling author, heard that her hometown was losing one of its last bookstores, she decided she didn’t want to live in a town without a bookstore, and she was going to do something about it.  She opened her own.  Check out this article from the ny times.   After hearing about this all week, I look forward to watching this store’s success.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/us/ann-patchett-bucks-bookstore-tide-opening-her-own.html?src=me&ref=general#

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/business/media/zines-have-a-resurgence-among-the-web-savvy.html?src=recg

Here is an article from the NY Times about Zines – “mini-magazines that are generally made by hand and are available only in small quantities,”  but I particularly like the discussion of how technology can promote paper publishing, rather then just elimiate the need for it.  For example, “Ms. Gharib still makes much use of technology to create and distribute the zine, employing software to design each issue, Twitter to attract readers, and Etsy, an online marketplace, to sell the publication.”

Additionally, there is something special about being able to hold a publication in your hands, rather then just see it on a scree.  Karen Gisonny, a librarain at the New York Public Library says ““We’re seeing a flowering of print.  There’s definitely been a renaissance in the last 10 years”  and “people are drawn to the experiences of creating and collecting these physical objects”

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/a-shelf-obsessed-writer/?emc=eta1

NY Times opinionator piece about an author who stalks the free bookcase at the local coffee shop to see if anyone is reading their books.

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/news/article_fd8934a4-c76e-11e0-b157-001cc4c03286.html

Article on “The Last Bookstore” located in Downtown Los Angeles