I like small and older book stores, much preferring to frequent them rather than the big chains. The San Francisco area is loaded with great shops, and it's possible to get lost in some of them for days ;-)) Having people in the shop that ~really~ know books and literature is important. If you don't mind, I'd like to tell you a little story.
It was 1966 and I was spending the summer in St. Louis, MO, working in the city of Brentwood. One afternoon, while waiting for someone, I decided to poke around and found a small book store and greeting card shop. I went in and was half-heartedly browsing around (there really wasn't much that caught my interest) when the shop owner approached. She was a tall, thin woman, almost gaunt, with long grey hair put up in a bun. She reminded me of American Gothic. She introduced herself as Viola Davies Graves (I'll ~NEVER~ forget that name) and suggested that I follow her to the back. She said, almost mystically, that the books I wanted were "back there." We went from the brightly lit main selling area, through some dark red velvet-like drapes, into a series of small, much darker, back rooms. She said that this is where she kept her "special and more interesting books" and that she "had something" just for me. We went to the furthest room, and there she reached up to a high shelf, and pulled down a four volume boxed set of haiku. The books were beautifully bound, wonderfully illustrated, and richly textured. I'd never seen or read haiku before, and only had a vague understanding of what it was. But when she handed me the set, and I felt their weight in my hands, I knew that she was right - the books were for me. I started reading them that night, marvelled at the illustrations, and over time learned about the poetry and the poets. I still have those books, and I still read them. The poetry they contain inspired me to read more poetry, and get further into literature. Basho inspired me to read Octavio Paz, and Paz led me to Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (arguably one of the earliest feminists), and to Garcia Lorca. Those books changed my understanding and appreciation of literature, and inspired me to read more with more understanding. I often wonder how Viola Davies Graves knew that those books were for me. Shel > [Original Message] > From: frank theriault > You're right, there's something about a small, cramped, dingy store, > with a guy (or girl) at the front who actually knows books, that is > most attractive.
