Friss, Evan - The Bookshop: A History Of The American Bookstore
Sweeping from the very first one in Philadelphia, started by a young printer named Franklin.
Continuing through early colonial clusters in Boston and New York, even those that stocked banned writers such as Thomas Paine.
Mr Friss is quite upfront that he cannot include every bookshop, including your favorites.
Midway, the book reaches modern survivors such as the Strand, touching on genre specific fronts, even sidewalk vendors.
Before proceeding to more the questionable. “You’ve Got Mail” (a film I loathed) based on its counterpart, Barnes & Noble. Then the gorilla, Amazon.
Borders is mentioned, as is Waldonbooks, B Dalton, City Lights.
The plight of small bookshops mirrors that of small town merchants.
Growing up, Main Street in my hometown was bustling and vibrant. In the 1980’s, City Hall allowed a mall on the outskirts. Main Street began to perish. Years later, Walmart came, killing the mall and what was left of Main Street. In earlier times, merchants lived in the town, participated, and their revenues stayed in the town. Profits with corporate chains streamed out of the town.
Such was nationwide. Every small bookshop owner can relate.
Friss cannot mention all, but I will breathe a couple.
Scene Of The Crime, on Ventura Blvd then elsewhere, specializing in crime and mystery.
Dangerous Visions, sanctioned by Harlan Ellison, also on Ventura, carrying SciFi and fantasy.
Not to forget the strictly mail order shops. More than any, the one name I miss, and desperately wish was still active, is Common Reader.
This is a highly enjoyable book, although it left me conflicted. Perhaps guilty.
By and large, I do not shop at bookshops, and I purchase a lot of books.
Instead, I buy direct from small presses. No middleman, the publisher pockets any profit.
Decades ago, I made that choice and never looked back.
Main thing, keep buying books, keep reading.
