Step up for a ride on Whistling Shade's
New Book Store Tour
Step up for a ride on Whistling Shade'sNew Book Store Tour |
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After our rollicking Used Book Store Tour in winter 2002, we thought it was time to give the town’s new book stores a glance. While not as threadworn, mysterious, or generally romantic as your used book shop, these stores do have that "new and exciting" zeitgeist thing going for them, and some actually live up to the promise of discovery. Thanks to the Whistling Shade staff and friends who hit the streets in the pursuit of bookishness!
Well-lit and unpretentious, it's pretty easy to overlook Orr Books among all the other bookstores in the neighborhood. Most readers will run into Orr by serendipity, and it's hard to describe the particular life-path you need to be on to become a regular customer there.
Still, points for an eclectic and charming collection that showcases the tremendous spiritual diversity in the Twin Cities without reducing it to an exoticized stoner den of culture vultures or a dark-paneled freakshow shelf pulled out of H.P. Lovecraft's nether-crevices.
The holdings are put on display respectably and deliberately, without a sense of hard-sell or flavor-of-the-month. Works here are generally of the type written to stay. Points also for a friendly and engaging staff, who remain largely unobtrusive as you browse.
With the demise of the Ruminator/Hungry Mind, there are tons of independent bookstores in the Twin Cities who want their mantle. Orr doesn't have the broad, sweeping selection of that vaunted bookstore, but they've got the tone right.
This isn't the store for you if you need to be in a mammoth cavern of books you'll never get around to reading. This isn't the store for you if you're some tight-assed fundamentalist cursed with an over-inflated sense of certainty in the universe. This isn't the store for you if Wal-Mart and Sam's Club are your regular source for good books.
It's a store for the searchers who enjoy the present moment, the accidental find, a glimpse at the inner questions that pin worlds together.
Will you break free of the cycle of Samsara coming here? Align your chakras or learn a really kicking tofu-dish? Maybe, maybe not. Like they say in the East, you find what you bring with you. But you can do a lot worse.
- Bryan Thao Worra
Now, of course, many years and dozens of superstores later, I know better. Like most right-minded literary types, I deplore Barnes & Noble and Borders as an 800 pound gorilla eating the bananas of the rest of the book world. As virtually the single buyer/distributor for any published book they hold enormous power over what gets bought and sold in America today. They’ve insidiously homogenized book culture into a fossilized template of green carpets, dark woods, and hot coffee. They’ve made hunting for books as enjoyable as picking out athletic socks at K-mart.
On the other hand, like most readers, I find the chains to be pretty much unavoidable if you want to buy books beyond what you find at the checkout lane at Rainbow. Let’s face it: Barnes & Noble and Borders have great selection, good prices, and dozens of convenient locations: they’re the Wal-Mart and Starbucks of books. Come to think of it, many of them have Starbucks right inside them, and a Wal-Mart just around the corner. Perhaps you might be impressed to know that at the Har-Mar store, Robert Louis Stevenson filled a full eighteen inches of shelf space. Or you’d be shocked to realize that Stephen King commanded nearly 20 feet. Barnes & Noble, interesting to note, had a more prominently chick-lit feel to their stacks; everywhere I turned there were covers with artily cropped pictures of women in short skirts making kissy-faces and/or holding martini glasses while whimsically muddling through the snipe-hunt of modern courtship. Borders, on the other hand, seemed eerily well-stocked with Ayn Rand and Herman Hesse, as if right-wing elites with no time for flighty, unenlightened women were in charge of ordering the stock. And everywhere I turned in either store, David Sedaris stared back at me like a chocolate-eyed puppy, begging me to take him home and read of his sweet-sad escapades.
All this is to say that if you’re looking for a reasonably well-heard of book, you’ll most likely find it at Barnes & Noble and Borders. But, knowing that, are we any closer to resolution with their rampaging clear-cut of independent booksellers which once forested the American landscape? Are they a boon to book-lovers or a Faustian bargain: Cheap, convenient books whose only strings are attached to the guillotine that beheaded the legions of once-vital independent booksellers.
I don’t know. I remember when I was a kid poking through the stacks of the library or the B. Daltons, or that huge store we’d driven out to special for the day, and stumbling on that rare title I just had to buy. It was as if the book had been put there just waiting for me to find it, as if I were the only one who would understand it. I still get that feeling, sometimes. At used book stores, or at independent stores in other cities. But never at Barnes & Noble and Borders. There, I only ever get just about what I expect, and usually leave with the feeling that I’ve settled for something everyone else has discovered already.
- Michael Ramberg
When I entered Uncle Hugo's, I was amazed. Their staff is friendly and knowledgeable. The store is wall-to-wall books. Packed bookcases stood as tall as the ceiling, and there were several piles of hardcover and paperback books that needed to be shelved. I found several books by Robert Holdstock, who seems to have many books out of print, and William Shatner. (I didn't realize Shatner wrote.) Uncle Hugo's also has a plentiful selection of signed books (as does Uncle Edgar's), more than any other bookstore that I know of.
Uncle Edgar's seems to have more new books than Uncle Hugo's, and the selection was just as impressive as its neighbor's. I lean more toward mysteries and thrillers in my reading tastes, so Uncle Edgar's was like a dark haven. Merry Christmas to me!
Uncle Hugo's and Uncle Edgar's have regular book signings, and an extensive website with book reviews, lists of upcoming books, and an archive of their newsletters. Uncle Hugo's does a great job with keeping sci-fi fans informed about this literary genre. Overall, the stores have earned their nationwide good reputation. Now, if only they had some space for chairs...
- Jesmia Avery
It is appropriate that the bookstore is literally underground. To get to the store, you have to walk down a small flight of steps until you reach the door. The store itself is minimalistically decorated with protest signs (there is a stack of picketing signs right next to the door). A few worn chairs and couches are available for patrons to peruse books and zines comfortably while listening to jazz. The clerk on the day I visited was a quiet but helpful older man. He spoke with two aging hippies about progressive book publishers as I skimmed books by Beckman, Goldman, and Kropotkin. Though the store is not bashful about its politics, it is not in your face telling you how to be a good radical, either.
Since Mayday opened in 1975, it has served as an "infoshop" (as quoted in Twin Cities Green Guide) for liberal and radical left-wing activists. Run by members of a collective, it began as a strictly anarchist bookstore in St. Paul, and its location has changed a few times. For the past several years, Mayday has remained on the West Bank near the University of Minnesota. The bookstore offers a large section on anarchism, labor unions, and politics. The store also includes ethnic history sections (South American, Native American, and Asian) and sections dedicated to feminism and sexuality. Also, the store has hosted meetings for progressive political groups and protests. I am happy that Mayday Bookstore continues to be a core meeting space for idealists. Plus, all books are always 15% off.
- Jesmia Avery
Arise! was created in 1993 by the Arise! collective to serve the Twin Cities community as a bookstore, a library, a venue for a variety of public events, and a meeting place. Today the radical, left-wing bookstore is run by the Arise! collective and volunteers.
For being such a small store, Arise! has a good collection of political and historical books. You can find books on anarchism, feminism, DIY projects, Middle Eastern, South American, and Asian history and politics. Their prominent collection of political, poetry, and punk zines is impressive. Of course, there is some anti-Bush and Republican sentiment ranging from buttons to books. The store also has a website that is a hub for activism communication.
On my visit, the clerk was less than friendly. Also, the store could use a little sprucing up. I think that some quotes or pictures of Che Guevara or Emma Goldman wouldn't go against the grain of the store or patrons. Despite these complaints, I would recommend this bookstore.
- Jesmia Avery
The store has several thousand texts, mostly by authors who are writing about themes regarding Christian religion, as well as an assortment of gifty items; mugs, shirts, candles, plaques and greeting cards all carry the message of God or Christ in some form. As a result of the inventory, you forget you are in a window-less room or the only patron in the store. My favorite nifty gifty find was a pewter labyrinth that comes in a velvet pouch for $24.00. Not even the Bibelot carries this perplexing piece of whimsy.
If you are in search for a book on Christian doctrine, or if you have $24.00 to drop on a pewter labyrinth I suggest you stop in and browse the shelves. The employee behind the counter remains deep in thought with a current text resting on his lap. He is friendly and seems to have a live-and-let-live philosophy. No need to worry about evangelicals trying to convert your lost soul. While you're in there, pick up one of their free 100+ page catalogs that you can order from.
- Suzanne Nielsen
The store, small yet diverse and plentiful in selection, is most often quiet and abandoned. A few tables and a coffee bar might enhance the feel but I think the proprietors, Ernest and Carol Bergquist, are strictly about the business of books. I hope they do stay in business. Mounds View, along with most northern suburbs, needs a little professor and his books to remind them of the concept of open minds and free speech. This is a store to promote, visit and support financially, plus greeting cards are only 79 cents.
- Suzanne Nielsen
The ambiance of the store is welcoming and their selection of poetry alone beats out any other bookstore I care to visit. Although they don't offer a discount on New York Times best sellers, they do have teacher discounts, senior discounts and periodically percentage discounts on all their selections.
One can't help but experience a deja vu of the good times when Ruminator housed Table of Contents with the busy coffee and bakery section in BTBR. And toys—I'm always a sucker for toys. The round checkout counter is surrounded by trinkets to amuse the child in us all. And play freely—there's no pressure to buy, although dollars are dropped as fast on those trinkets and in slot machines at casinos.
BTBR might be the best bookstore currently in St. Paul due to its never-ending selection of texts, gifts and unique architecture. It's spacious, yet packed with prose. The staff are friendly and appear to enjoy their jobs. The reading space is small yet cozy. The store is kid-friendly, even on the night of Larry Flynt's visit. Give BTBR a glowing 10 on 1-10 for yanking Flynt in there alone. Gotta love their politics.
- Suzanne Nielsen
If you find your stomach beginning to growl after browsing through the vast selection of Wilde memorabilia you can hop on over to the Wilde Roast Café for a double espresso ($2.50) or a "chicken salad of importance"($7). While savoring your crème brulee or sipping on a glass of cabernet you can relax in their plush sofas next to the fireplace, listen to soft music playing in the background and look for your ideal husband/wife in a Victorian setting.
- Rhonda Niola
Current owners Roberta Kiemele, Susie Fruncillo, and Faith Basten continue to keep alive the vision of a store which was begun by five women. Kiemele claims that their success is due to their focus away from the bottom line and more toward their love of books. "Being located in a real town rather than a big city or a mall makes us unique," she said, stating that many customers come from Edina or Eden Prairie because a downtown atmosphere is missing from those suburbs.
They also keep their shelves stocked with locally published authors and books from J Press, a press in White Bear Lake. "The community supports us and we want to support them. It's a mutual thing," Kiemele said.
Lake Country holds several book events each year. Some of the more well known authors include John Sandford and Vince Flynn. Jim Bruton, author of The Big House, will be reading October 9 from 10:30-noon.
- Deanna Reiter
This is no ordinary bookstore.
Native American author Louise Erdich is the owner of Birchbark Books, located on the west side of Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis. The independent bookstore has found its niche with the largest selection of Native American books in the Twin Cities and surrounding area. They also have a wide range of fiction books and children's books—the children’s area includes Hobbit Hole, a brightly painted space underneath the staircase.
Aside from the unique atmosphere, Store Manager Brian Baxter also believes in personal attention to customers. "Each person's needs are different. You may need a book to make you cry. Someone else may need a book to make them laugh—or a book of solace," Baxter said. "We make a great effort to put the book in your hand that takes you where you want to go. That's our responsibility."
The store often hosts readings. Past authors include: Louise Erdich, Bharati Mukherjee, and Jhumpa Lahiri. Birchbark has scheduled Kenneth Cohen, author of Honoring the Medicine: The Essential Guide to Native American Healing, to read October 26 at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church at 6:30.
- Deanna Reiter
All reviews © 2004 by the authors.
