Litsy

The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss

@bennettbookworm has created a masterpiece in a document for all littens to use! Traveling? You can explore what bookshops are in your area and add bookshops to the doc!
original post:
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2899239

BennettBookworm Thank you so much for reposting, and for the kind words!! 1d

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BennettBookworm

The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss

Confession: This was on my to-do list for 3 years. Now I‘m so excited to see it GROW as Littens add to this list of our fave bookstores around the world. If you‘re traveling, you can use the list to see if there‘s a cool bookstore you‘d like to visit!🗺️🤓

Please add YOUR faves! Thanks to all who contributed 3 years ago… happy exploring!

SHOUTOUT to my sister who opened a new bookstore THIS YEAR!! Bookish Notions- Media, PA!! 🥳 @LiteraryinPA

Julsmarshall, wanderinglynn, Hooked_on_books, BarkingMadRead, AmyG, TheBookHippie, Amiable, LeahBergen, Sharpeipup, shortsarahrose, CaitZ, Bklover, TrishB, Deblovestoread, Eggs, Chrissyreadit, RowReads1, BekaReid, TheQuietQuill, Liz_M, Nessavamusic, kstadt929, Slajaunie, Ruthiella, jdiehr, TheSpineView, hissingpotatoes, dabbe, IndoorDame, Scochrane26, TheAromaofBooks, Jess861, Twainy, peanutnine, BookBosomed1, Zuhkeeyah, ETALTON

BennettBookworm https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bhrLSxrlmKcF3aIUlraHGNQ5XedXvextPbfd3RYeQgw/... 5d

BennettBookworm @LitsyEvents 5d

BekaReid Love this! I just added several 📚🤗 5d

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charl08 I split the UK into nations and added some more. Tagging @squirrelbrain incase she can add some more here (and hasn't seen already!) 5d

Amiable Yay!! I was just talking to @TheBookHippie about this!! 5d

Itchyfeetreader Oh I will go back and add …. 5d

Chrissyreadit 💛💛💛💛 5d

TheBookHippie @Amiable yay!!!!! 5d

Liz_M Brooklyn is better represented, now. Thanks for sharing the list! @Kitta, what did I miss? I haven't started on Manhattan or Queens yet. (edited) 5d

wanderinglynn How awesome! And congrats to your sister! 🎉👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 5d

squirrelbrain Thanks @charl08 - I‘ll add some once I‘m back from my hols! 4d

dabbe Fabulous idea! I added a few! 💜🩶🧡 4d

LeahBergen This is such a wonderful idea!! 👏👏 4d

Hooked_on_books I can‘t manage to get the doc to let me add any, so I‘ll mention here: Beach Books in Seaside, OR, Cannon Beach Book Company in Cannon Beach, OR, and Basically Books in Hilo, HI. 4d

staci.reads This is awesome! I added a bunch from the Midwest and a few from the southeast! 4d

Ruthiella Fantastic! I added Vromans, Skylight and Cellar Door Books for California and Smith Family Bookstore for Oregon. 4d

monalyisha This is going to be such a useful tool! I didn‘t see any listed for my state yet, so I‘ll go in and add my favorite local RI shops once my laptop‘s charged up. 😉 Fabulous idea! Thanks for dreaming it up! 4d

monalyisha @Amiable, I want to go in and add an asterisk to The Book Barn in support to show how much I love it! …Part of me thinks asterisks might be helpful (like ratings/favoriting) but that‘s probably complicating things unnecessarily. I‘m good at complicating things. 😅 4d

monalyisha @BennettBookworm Are the bunny pics from your sister‘s bookstore? If so, I think we might be kindred?!?! 4d

lil1inblue Oh, how wonderful! This is amazing! 😍 4d

TheKidUpstairs Love this! I'll add my favourite Ontario bookstores soon! 4d

Faranae Would you mind terribly if I added headings that work with the table of contents function? This would make it a quick click for folks to get to the country they wanted to see. 3d

BennettBookworm @Faranae Yes please!! I wanted to but forgot how 😄 3d

Faranae @BennettBookworm Happy to help! And Google keep messing about with the functions of Google Docs, so probably the way you are used to disappeared or got moved. ☠ 3d

Bklover What a wonderful idea!! 3d

PuddleJumper Added some for the UK. What a great idea! Thanks for doing this 3d

BennettBookworm @Hooked_on_books Thanks, I‘ve added those now!! 1d

BennettBookworm @monalyisha Thank you so much!! 😍😍😍And actually the photos are Top L: my sister‘s, Bookish Notions; Top R: Daunt Books in London; Bottom L: Last Bookstore in Los Angeles; and Bottom R with the bunnies: Scattered Books in Chappaqua, NY!! 🐰🤩💕📚 1d

BennettBookworm Thank you all SO MUCH for the positive vibes and for adding so much! This rocks 🙏🏻 @BekaReid @charl08 @Amiable @Itchyfeetreader @Chrissyreadit @TheBookHippie @Liz_M @squirrelbrain @wanderinglynn @dabbe @LeahBergen @staci.reads @Ruthiella @lil1inblue @TheKidUpstairs @Bklover @PuddleJumper 1d

61 likes29 comments

Mattsbookaday

Once Upon a Tome: The Misadventures of a Rare Bookseller | Oliver Darkshire

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Once Upon a Tome, by Oliver Darkshire (2022)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Premise: A memoir about a young man‘s apprenticeship at an esteemed London antiquarian book dealer.

Review: I discovered the author through his recent novel and was intrigued to learn that he first became known for his unique and humorous takes on a notoriously staid trade. ⬇️

Mattsbookaday This book is comprised of short vignettes, and while they are as charming and fun as expected, they also felt a bit rushed in places. But overall this was super fun.

Bookish Pair: Darkshire‘s recent novel Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil (2025). 2w

Aims42 This was such a fun palate cleanser between heavier reads 👍 2w

Mattsbookaday @Aims42 that‘s exactly how I used it too! 2w

15 likes3 comments

Robotswithpersonality

The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss

so-so

Meh, this one is mostly my fault, but it did help me figure out the kind of bookstore book I would be more interested in reading in the future.
Understandably, the early chapters of the book, talking about the early history of American bookstores are also tied in with early American history, and maybe it's that next-door-neighbour Canadian thing, but I've kind of had my fill of American history. 1/?

Robotswithpersonality 2/? I did love when the book started focusing in on later bookshops and the personalities and movements involved such as:
Gotham Book Mart - freedom of expression, contesting censors, supporting writers
Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop - gay pride, community support
Drum & Spear - activism and education against racism, segregation 2w

Robotswithpersonality 3/? Didn't feel much like reading about Nazis, but the chapter titled The Aryan Bookstore did also discuss co-evolving socialist and communist, radical bookstores, supporting movements for various people's rights.
Unavoidably, the book covers the role in American bookstore history played by Barnes and Noble and Amazon Books, but not being American, not loving chain or mall or supersized bookstores or what Amazon has done, I was less interested 2w

Robotswithpersonality 4/4 in these chapters.

Going forward, I think I need to look for individual independent book shop histories, those with character, and/or focused on quirky niche topics, or a history of revolution and activism or social/community support.
Happy to receive recommendations! 😁

⚠️Suicide attempt, homophobia, antisemitism, racism 2w

12 likes3 comments

kspenmoll

The Little Lost Library | Ellery Adams

Yup! Epigraph. #ThematicCozies #books #September

julieclair

julieclair Oh wow. So true. 2w

AnnCrystal 💝🥲💝👍🏼💝. 2w

dabbe 💛💜🧡 1w

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Reggie Soooooo I listened to this Books in the Freezer podcast where this librarian was on talking about the horror books that shaped her. At the end she talked about what people could do to help their libraries and one was go to their library council meetings and just say thanks. That was on Tuesday. I looked up the one for Albuquerque and theirs was last night. So I went and talked about all the ways I loved the library. It was very nice. 1w

mhillis @Reggie that‘s a great idea 😊 1w

Reggie There was a member on the council who told me that usually when someone shows up for public comment there‘s a grievance so this was nice for her. @mhillis 1w

kspenmoll @Reggie Well done! We need our libraries & need to constantly let them know that right now. 6d

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Amiable

The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss

Shoutout to my local indie: RJ Julia in Madison, CT!
And The Book Barn in Niantic.
And Bank Square Books in Mystic.
And Northshire Books in Manchester, VT.
And The Strand in NYC. …

Ah, Hell, who am I kidding? Gimme ALL the bookstores… 😍 this is why I shop at Bookshop.org. So I can spread the love…

#serenesaturdays

TheBookHippie

kspenmoll I love this shout out! In CT let me add Riverbend bookstore- their main store is in Glastonbury, their smaller store in West Hartford. And yes to every Indio bookstore everywhere! 2w

Amiable @kspenmoll I‘ll have to stop at Riverbend the next time I take my car up to Liberty Mazda in Hartford for service! I usually come home along Route 2 and could stop in Glastonbury. 2w

kspenmoll @Amiable Great idea! Next time! We do go to RJ Julia‘s in Madison every summer. It‘s a family tradition! 2w

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TheBookHippie Making LOOOOONG list of bookstores to visit ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ 2w

Amiable @TheBookHippie Someone on here was going to compile a list of “favorite Litsy bookstores” at one point —I don‘t think they ever did and I forget who it was. But I‘d love to see a list like that! 2w

TheBookHippie @Amiable YESSSSS!!!!!! 2w

dabbe 🧡🩶💛 2w

44 likes7 comments

Bookworm54

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store | Laurie Gilmore

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Hazel is worried she is going to turn 30 without ever having done anything adventurous, so when clues start turning up in the romance section of her bookshop, she turns to Noah to help her with the clues and to have a fun summer. But is one summer of fun enough?

My favourite of these so far (read the first 3 now). I think because it was a bit less instalove than the others 🤣

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Robotswithpersonality

The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss