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Out
There
Leslie Basalla
I have, for perhaps the first time in my life, an empty bookshelf in
my apartment. This is something of a revelation, because I've always
had more books than space for them. Now I have space -- a full 7
feet of it -- that's just begging to be filled with the written word.
Now, chances are, some of the things I put
in that shelf space will come from Borders or Barnes and Noble (especially
from the bargain book sections), but the bulk of my book-buying patronage
will take place in local independent bookstores.
In an increasingly global commercial culture,
where big box stores routinely drive regional retailers out of business,
a good indie bookstore is a rare find. Luckily, Cleveland still has
a few book shops where conscientious readers can pick up volumes of great
literature while supporting area business.
Independent book shops might not have the
warehouse-like selection of the megastores, but they have charm, knowledgeable
employees and comparable pirces on new books, and if the store deals in
used books, they can be a downright bargain.
A grandfather among local book retailers,
Mac's Back on Coventry is a great spot to get lost in a for a few hours,
especially if you're a science fiction fanatic. The lofted second
floor of the shop is crammed from end to end with paperbacks telling tales
of the future.
On the main floor, the store stocks an interessting
and diverse selection of fiction and non-fiction, as well as children's
books. I recently ran across a beloved novel from my childhood there
for a mere $4. The front of the store is also one of the best places
in town to pick up zines and chapbooks put out by area poets and other
creative types, and the basement is full of even more good stuff.
In keeping with its bohemian history, the
shop also plays host to an occasional poety reading or author's visit.
Across town, on the same block as Cleveland
Public Theater, the 84 Charing Cross Bookstore is something of different
animal. With a "knock to be let in" policy; tall, crowded, oak bookshelves
and a prevalence of antique light fixtures, the store has a Dickensian
feel about it. The shops's heavy emphasis on first editions and collectable
hardcover books adds to the aged and slightly expensive atmosphere.
Billing itself, additionally, as a dealer
in ephemera, 84 Charing Cross sells dozen of maps, prints and old magazine
ads and illustarations. Shopppers can find them filed in portfolios,
labeled by category throughout the shop.
For a bibliophile, walking into tht right
kind of bookstore can feel like a magical experience, and that's excactly
the thrill I got when I stepped through the doors of Loganberry Books on
Larchmere Boulevard.
Even the facade of the building, on which
certain vertical portions are painted to look like the exquisitely embossed
and gilded spines of four books, has a lovely, romantic look. Inside,
the enchantment continues, as room after architecturally diverse room opens
into another.
Stocked with huge and impressive art and architecture
sections, the store fits in well with the galleries in the neighborhood
but offers volumes on subjects of interest for nearly everyone.
Loganberry Books in the kind of place everyone
can and should lose themselves in.
Other great local independent book shops include
Fireside Books in Chagrin Falls, Six Steps Down on West 25th Street and
Appletree Books at Cedar-Fairmount. The Olde Erie Street Bookstore
on East Ninth Street clings on to existence in a hostile climate, but by
appointment only.
Out There runs the first and third Thursdays
of each month.
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