Has it come to this? Is it left to USAToday/Associated Press to be the guardian of our literary culture?
Beth J. Harpaz, AP Travel Editor, has selected nine bookstores that she considers “worth a tourist’s time” because each is “more than just a place to buy books.” The nine bookstores are:
- BOOKS & BOOKS: 265 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables
- CITY LIGHTS BOOKS: 261 Columbus Ave., San Francisco
- ELLIOTT BAY BOOK CO.: 101 S. Main St., Seattle
- POLITICS AND PROSE: 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington
- POWELL’S CITY OF BOOKS: 1005 W. Burnside, Portland
- PRAIRIE LIGHTS: 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City
- TATTERED COVER BOOK STORE: 1628 16th St., Denver
- THAT BOOKSTORE IN BLYTHEVILLE: 316 W. Main, Blytheville (Arkansas)
- THE STRAND: Corner of 12th Street and Broadway, near Union Square, Manhattan
What do you think of this list? I would add Moe’s in Berkeley to it, for one.
LINK: Nine destination bookstores worth putting on a tourist’s itinerary (USAToday). IMAGE modified from this source
Nancy
I would add “Moe’s” as well but with the comment that you have to wade through a lot of very aggressive panhandlers to get to it and that many of the so-called rare books are not rare and are extremely over priced. Black Oak Books would be a destination for their gorgeous signs and beautifully designed space but the prices – oi vey!
Richard Wright
I can name 25 rural bookstores in New England that offer the charm, inventory and comraderie that book lovers crave. None of the “nine” in the USA Today article were in New England; are you kidding me? Come to New England and we will favor you with some of the most enduring and endearing of booksellers. RFW