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Nominee for the 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore
An affectionate and engaging history of the American bookstore and its central place in American cultural life, from department stores to indies, from highbrow dealers trading in first editions to sidewalk vendors, and from chains to special-interest community destinations
Bookstores have always been unlike any other kind of store, shaping readers and writers, and influencing our tastes, thoughts, and politics. They nurture local communities while creating new ones of their own. Bookshops are powerful spaces, but they are also endangered ones. In The Bookshop, we see those stakes: what has been, and what might be lost.
Evan Friss’s history of the bookshop draws on oral histories, archival collections, municipal records, diaries, letters, and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many. The story begins with Benjamin Franklin’s first bookstore in Philadelphia and takes us to a range of booksellers including The Strand, Chicago’s Marshall Field & Company, Gotham Book Mart, specialty stores like Oscar Wilde and Drum and Spear, sidewalk sellers of used books, Barnes & Noble, Amazon Books, and Parnassus. The Bookshop is also a history of the leading figures in American bookselling, often impassioned eccentrics, and a history of how books have been marketed and sold over more than two centuries—including, for example, a 3,000-pound elephant who appeared to sign books at Marshall Field’s in 1944.
The Bookshop is a love letter to bookstores, a charming chronicle for anyone who cherishes these sanctuaries of literature, and essential reading to understand how these vital institutions have shaped American life—and why we still need them.
Bookstores have always been unlike any other kind of store, shaping readers and writers, and influencing our tastes, thoughts, and politics. They nurture local communities while creating new ones of their own. Bookshops are powerful spaces, but they are also endangered ones. In The Bookshop, we see those stakes: what has been, and what might be lost.
Evan Friss’s history of the bookshop draws on oral histories, archival collections, municipal records, diaries, letters, and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many. The story begins with Benjamin Franklin’s first bookstore in Philadelphia and takes us to a range of booksellers including The Strand, Chicago’s Marshall Field & Company, Gotham Book Mart, specialty stores like Oscar Wilde and Drum and Spear, sidewalk sellers of used books, Barnes & Noble, Amazon Books, and Parnassus. The Bookshop is also a history of the leading figures in American bookselling, often impassioned eccentrics, and a history of how books have been marketed and sold over more than two centuries—including, for example, a 3,000-pound elephant who appeared to sign books at Marshall Field’s in 1944.
The Bookshop is a love letter to bookstores, a charming chronicle for anyone who cherishes these sanctuaries of literature, and essential reading to understand how these vital institutions have shaped American life—and why we still need them.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published August 6, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 275 reviews
September 12, 2024
I was reading an article the other day about a bookstore in our community called Phoenix Books that had been around for 43 years. It is located in San Luis Obispo, CA for anyone who might be considering coming to visit one day. They are also proud of their online presence. Still, back to their brick-and-mortar reality. That is amazing, when you consider this store has overcome big box stores and the pandemic. One of the comments said by an enthusiastic patron was…
“People love books. They are repositories of knowledge. They will never go out of style.”
That is so true. And, that is what we can say about bookstores, too. We love the feel and experience of being in a bookstore. The smell of it. Going down the aisles. Looking at all the stacks and shelves of books available at our fingertips. In many ways it is almost orgasmic. (Please excuse my enthusiasm, here!)
So, why not read a book about bookstores? Not that readers haven’t read books about bookstores before. But this one wants to tell us a different story about bookstores, in a way. Like the importance of the UPS driver (devoted to delivering books), or Benjamin Franklin (he amassed books for discussion), or how Jeff Bezos created Amazon Books (a different way of selling books). A distinct perspective look, at bookstores.
It even has a story about the tuxedo cat, WonTon who presided over a store (Chop Suey) in Richmond, Virginia that made its’ debut in Gary Shteyngart’s 2018 novel, “Lake Success.”
Of course, many of us who love books about bookstores, have read lots of stories about cats in bookstores. And, to be quite honest, I believe, it intrigues us. It also appeals to the heart in us. We are attracted to the stories – especially if cats are on the cover and are incorporated as a part of the story, too. Dogs on covers and within the story will captivate us, too.
Mostly, this is the story of how much we as readers hunger for knowledge within books. Just like what the enthusiastic patron of one of my community bookstores said above. Does that mean we need this book to give us this?
It definitely is a vigorous defense of books, and I love that about it. And, it has its fun little facts in history, too. But is it a great read?
Well…I think it is anecdotal, and interesting, and somewhat thought-provoking, thoughtful and maybe, just maybe, a little bit of an all right read.
Or…maybe a fun in-between book while reading the novel you are attempting to get through.
Either way, readers won’t be disappointed.
“People love books. They are repositories of knowledge. They will never go out of style.”
That is so true. And, that is what we can say about bookstores, too. We love the feel and experience of being in a bookstore. The smell of it. Going down the aisles. Looking at all the stacks and shelves of books available at our fingertips. In many ways it is almost orgasmic. (Please excuse my enthusiasm, here!)
So, why not read a book about bookstores? Not that readers haven’t read books about bookstores before. But this one wants to tell us a different story about bookstores, in a way. Like the importance of the UPS driver (devoted to delivering books), or Benjamin Franklin (he amassed books for discussion), or how Jeff Bezos created Amazon Books (a different way of selling books). A distinct perspective look, at bookstores.
It even has a story about the tuxedo cat, WonTon who presided over a store (Chop Suey) in Richmond, Virginia that made its’ debut in Gary Shteyngart’s 2018 novel, “Lake Success.”
Of course, many of us who love books about bookstores, have read lots of stories about cats in bookstores. And, to be quite honest, I believe, it intrigues us. It also appeals to the heart in us. We are attracted to the stories – especially if cats are on the cover and are incorporated as a part of the story, too. Dogs on covers and within the story will captivate us, too.
Mostly, this is the story of how much we as readers hunger for knowledge within books. Just like what the enthusiastic patron of one of my community bookstores said above. Does that mean we need this book to give us this?
It definitely is a vigorous defense of books, and I love that about it. And, it has its fun little facts in history, too. But is it a great read?
Well…I think it is anecdotal, and interesting, and somewhat thought-provoking, thoughtful and maybe, just maybe, a little bit of an all right read.
Or…maybe a fun in-between book while reading the novel you are attempting to get through.
Either way, readers won’t be disappointed.
August 10, 2024
Bookstores and bookshops, yes, they are the subject of a book as well as movies. Most times when you read books about bookstores or watch a movie which involves a bookstore you are going be looking at a romantic comedy or cozy mystery. But, into the breach comes author Evan Friss, who actually gives us a non-fiction book about the history of the American bookstore. Yes we're not here to find romance and passion, but instead Friss takes us on a whirlwind tour of the American bookshop from its earliest beginnings up to its current status. This is a fascinating book, one that can be read chapter by chapter as he moves us slowly, but surely through the development of the American bookstore. He takes us back to one of the first, if not the first bookstores in America and that was Ben Franklin's bookstore in Philadelphia. Friss points our that in the beginning most printers/publishers also were bookstore owners. People would come in and chat there would be a free flow of ideas, but the books that were initially sold were either from England or had to do with religion, teaching, or philosophy regarding what became known as the American revolution. He moves us to The Old Corner in Boston, which also had that printing/publication, and book selling area. It was a place where some of the leading thinkers of the early 19th century used to gather. And from there we continue for another 10 other chapters that chart the development of the bookstore. Bookstores in department stores, bookstores on wheels, independent bookstores, sidewalk bookstores, large bookstore chains, Amazon bookstores, and e-books. Yes, Friss runs the gambit of the history of the bookstore, and even as I write, this history is being remade as Costco no longer will sell books in their facilities, and for the first time ever for a six month period of time there were more audible books sold in America than e-books. And the bookstore has to sit there and try to adapt. It is a marvelous story, and is one filled with a lot of quirky characters and also a lot of hope that what we call independent bookstores still have a place in America. A well done book, on a topic that few people have written about, but which most all of us have encountered somewhere along our lives. And while I myself might enjoy buying my books online, I have to admit there's nothing better than going into a bookstore and browsing through the aisles at all the new or used books that are for sale. 4.5****
September 2, 2024
This was full of things I didn't know about bookstores, from the very beginning in Colonial America (think Benjamin Franklin) to the days of the big box stores (think B&N and Borders) to Amazon and e-readers, finishing up with Parnassus Books in Nashville and the re-emergence of local Indies. I was once a bookseller (never an owner) and I know that whether it was a small local store, a used book store or Barnes & Noble, the love of books was what drove me. Putting a book into the hands of a reader was a joy. This book is well written and personal, not a dry history. At times I felt a lump in my throat. A good read for anyone who loves books.
August 23, 2024
This is a very well researched book, with lots of references to archives and other primary sources. Not surprising for a book by a professional historian. More surprising is that it is readable and entertaining. Friss follows a roughly chronological arrangement and covers a small number of bookshops in depth, with some others noted in passing. He begins with Franklin in Philadelphia and next moves on to the Old Corner Bookstore/Ticknor and Fields in Boston, a major force in early nineteenth-century American literature. Then he moves to bookshops on wheels, department store bookshops (Marshall Field's), Bookshop Row (NYC), Gotham Book Mart (NYC), The Strand (NYC), a variety of theme-oriented bookshops (feminist, LGBTQ, radical, Black), street booksellers, Barnes & Noble, Amazon. He ends with Ann Patchett's indie bookshop, Parnassus, in Nashville.
This is very much an east coast book; it reminds one of the New Yorker map of the US). Most of the bookshops are in the northeast, mostly in NYC. I will grant the cultural and commercial significance of most of his picks, but he omits or scants a lot. City Lights in San Francisco, at least as significant as Gotham and the Strand, gets only a couple of mentions. Powell's (Portland) likewise. Border's also gets relatively little attention; the Borders in Ann Arbor, originally an indie, was a great bookshop and the chain was higher quality than most of the competition. Barnes & Noble may have been first, but it was never as good as Borders. Antiquarian and second-hand bookshops get relatively little attention. Friss also generally ignores specialty bookshops: mystery, scifi (e.g., Uncle Edgar's and Uncle Hugo's in Minneapolis), non-English language books (e.g., Schoenhof's in Cambridge) etc. But they are an important part of the bookshop scene.
This is a pretty good book and I learned a number of things that I hadn't known. But as a history of American bookshops, it is quite selective and spotty. Much is a paean to the indies (Friss is married to an indie bookseller). I like indies and buy a lot of books from them (most recently Moon Palace in Minneapolis). But I also buy from chains and Amazon. People forget that in the days before Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon, most places were books deserts. And even if you had a good indie nearby, there was a lot that you could only get by special order and mail order. I only started buying from Amazon, when our really fine local indie was taken over by Books-a-Million (aka, the barbarians from Birmingham) and they told me to take my special orders to Amazon. Which I did, along with much of the rest of my business. When I was a college student, I had to open an account with Blackwells in Oxford to get Latin and Greek books by mail; nobody much in America stocks them (then and now).
Four stars and not three because I am uncomfortable dinging an author for not writing the book that I would have wanted him to write.
This is very much an east coast book; it reminds one of the New Yorker map of the US). Most of the bookshops are in the northeast, mostly in NYC. I will grant the cultural and commercial significance of most of his picks, but he omits or scants a lot. City Lights in San Francisco, at least as significant as Gotham and the Strand, gets only a couple of mentions. Powell's (Portland) likewise. Border's also gets relatively little attention; the Borders in Ann Arbor, originally an indie, was a great bookshop and the chain was higher quality than most of the competition. Barnes & Noble may have been first, but it was never as good as Borders. Antiquarian and second-hand bookshops get relatively little attention. Friss also generally ignores specialty bookshops: mystery, scifi (e.g., Uncle Edgar's and Uncle Hugo's in Minneapolis), non-English language books (e.g., Schoenhof's in Cambridge) etc. But they are an important part of the bookshop scene.
This is a pretty good book and I learned a number of things that I hadn't known. But as a history of American bookshops, it is quite selective and spotty. Much is a paean to the indies (Friss is married to an indie bookseller). I like indies and buy a lot of books from them (most recently Moon Palace in Minneapolis). But I also buy from chains and Amazon. People forget that in the days before Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon, most places were books deserts. And even if you had a good indie nearby, there was a lot that you could only get by special order and mail order. I only started buying from Amazon, when our really fine local indie was taken over by Books-a-Million (aka, the barbarians from Birmingham) and they told me to take my special orders to Amazon. Which I did, along with much of the rest of my business. When I was a college student, I had to open an account with Blackwells in Oxford to get Latin and Greek books by mail; nobody much in America stocks them (then and now).
Four stars and not three because I am uncomfortable dinging an author for not writing the book that I would have wanted him to write.
November 14, 2024
3.5 stars. It tended to drone, but I have to recognize the depth of historical research that went into this. I think my lack of focus and attentiveness is by no fault of the work itself or the author, but more my brain was expecting something slightly different. I would still recommend bibliophiles with a taste for history to explore this for themselves.
September 19, 2024
A perfectly adequate, if anecdotal and somewhat capricious and selective, history of American bookselling. This book occupies a tricky historical niche in my view. On one hand, it’s too much to tackle for a microhistory approach into which an author could potentially delve really deeply. The topic of bookselling and the intersection of commerce and ideas, of free speech and a free press, across even just one entire nation, is simply too vast. But neither is this book as comprehensive in historical research and chronological scope as this vast topic could easily support: rather, it’s more of a randomly episodic, cocktail-party-fact approach. As a result, I struggled to feel satisfied while consuming this book and I was ultimately left a bit underwhelmed as well as confused regarding some of the author’s scattershot choices of what to cover, and how much. I have a similar experience with many “books about books,” I find: the “whimsical potpourri” or “trivia match prep” effect reigns, and there are always confusing foci as well as bewildering gaps. Nonetheless, it’s engaging enough, and it would make a fine gift for a bibliophile in your life.
August 19, 2024
What an engaging book that pairs well with THE BOOK-MAKERS by Adam Smyth. I was particularly inspired by the chapters on Gotham Book Mart, Oscar Wilde and Drum & Spear, so much so that while visiting the UK I had to go to and buy something from The People's Bookshop Durham (a collection of poetry by a local poet). The chapter on Parnassus made me wish I'd schlepped all the way out there when I was in Nashville. And the chapter on sidewalk sellers is a nice compliment to the documentary "BookWars."
The chapter on The Strand cleared up a mystery for me: when did it stop looking like a giant, book-filled Red Apple grocery store and more like McNally Jackson? Not that I'm complaining; I found a copy of Ira Levin's SLIVER there recently. And I'm glad the author delves into the (imho criminal) sale of galleys.
The chapter in the Aryan Bookstore was good, but shouldn't have compared it to people's bookstores. The author might have also compared its products to those of today's rightwing imprints, which B&N mainstreamed (to its shame) as much as it mainstreamed (to its credit) gay and Black books.
Indeed, I wanted more from the chapter on B&N--a store I owe my publishing career to (specifically the one at 82nd and Bway) because its selection taught me the industry--on how the beancounters killed their customer promise, especially after the 2008 financial crisis; on how their still crummy website hamstrung their ability to compete with Amazon; and more on why the Nook failed (yet the guy who ran the program got an $8M buyout; I should fail so well at something!) And while Daunt seems to be doing a good job reviving B&N (by turning it into a clone of Waterstones), questions remain. I did appreciate the deep history, though.
Similarly I liked the Amazon chapter, but it could have also been more critical, given how awful the shopping experience has become, but the author does point out that books don't really matter to Amazon anymore.
The only missing chapter is on Borders, whose death demonstrated so many bookshop challenges of our time.
Now to read PARNASSUS ON WHEELS by Christopher Morley and maybe set up a stand outside my own house to sell off my excess inventory. Next time in the city near Avenue A and St. Marks, I'll have to visit Jen Fisher's sidewalk shop to learn the ropes.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early look.
The chapter on The Strand cleared up a mystery for me: when did it stop looking like a giant, book-filled Red Apple grocery store and more like McNally Jackson? Not that I'm complaining; I found a copy of Ira Levin's SLIVER there recently. And I'm glad the author delves into the (imho criminal) sale of galleys.
The chapter in the Aryan Bookstore was good, but shouldn't have compared it to people's bookstores. The author might have also compared its products to those of today's rightwing imprints, which B&N mainstreamed (to its shame) as much as it mainstreamed (to its credit) gay and Black books.
Indeed, I wanted more from the chapter on B&N--a store I owe my publishing career to (specifically the one at 82nd and Bway) because its selection taught me the industry--on how the beancounters killed their customer promise, especially after the 2008 financial crisis; on how their still crummy website hamstrung their ability to compete with Amazon; and more on why the Nook failed (yet the guy who ran the program got an $8M buyout; I should fail so well at something!) And while Daunt seems to be doing a good job reviving B&N (by turning it into a clone of Waterstones), questions remain. I did appreciate the deep history, though.
Similarly I liked the Amazon chapter, but it could have also been more critical, given how awful the shopping experience has become, but the author does point out that books don't really matter to Amazon anymore.
The only missing chapter is on Borders, whose death demonstrated so many bookshop challenges of our time.
Now to read PARNASSUS ON WHEELS by Christopher Morley and maybe set up a stand outside my own house to sell off my excess inventory. Next time in the city near Avenue A and St. Marks, I'll have to visit Jen Fisher's sidewalk shop to learn the ropes.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early look.
October 3, 2024
What a fun historical journey through the history of the bookstore/bookselling industry - from Northeast colonial times to the slight uptick in independent bookstores who are trying to compete with the Amazon juggernaut.
Since I'm a bibliophile and love history books - this book was right up my alley. Friss's writing was engaging and not bogged down in minutia. While there's just one independent bookstore in my city (please forgive me kind owners there, I just can't afford hardback prices), I have many fond memories of hanging out or browsing for hours at Joseph Beth, Barnes and Noble (pre-Nook), and shopping at used bookstores throughout my travels when I was younger.
Friss captures the essences of the importance of bookstores throughout history - especially the indies. He still passes no judgement on the big box stores. I did feel a tad bit of guilt at the end that I'm really financially unable to buy $40-$50 hardcovers at Indies, but at least I got this book at a library and not Amazon.
I can see where some people would quibble with this book: Friss's book is very northeast-centric. Powell's and City Lights barely receive mention. Other online outlets for used/rare books such as abebooks.com, thriftbooks, and very notable used bookstores throughout the country are not mentioned. Amazon, of course, was not willing to speak with him, but that's not on Friss.
Friss captures the intimacy of receiving recommendations and discussing books at local indie bookstores. However, my GoodReads friends and those who I follow are really much better arbiters for the genres I choose to read - a heartfelt thank you goes out to all of you, whether we are friends or I am just a follower. I take my smartphone everywhere when I do go to used bookstores or drive to Barnes and Noble so I can see everyone's reviews before I make any impulse purchases.
I give this book my highest recommendation.
Since I'm a bibliophile and love history books - this book was right up my alley. Friss's writing was engaging and not bogged down in minutia. While there's just one independent bookstore in my city (please forgive me kind owners there, I just can't afford hardback prices), I have many fond memories of hanging out or browsing for hours at Joseph Beth, Barnes and Noble (pre-Nook), and shopping at used bookstores throughout my travels when I was younger.
Friss captures the essences of the importance of bookstores throughout history - especially the indies. He still passes no judgement on the big box stores. I did feel a tad bit of guilt at the end that I'm really financially unable to buy $40-$50 hardcovers at Indies, but at least I got this book at a library and not Amazon.
I can see where some people would quibble with this book: Friss's book is very northeast-centric. Powell's and City Lights barely receive mention. Other online outlets for used/rare books such as abebooks.com, thriftbooks, and very notable used bookstores throughout the country are not mentioned. Amazon, of course, was not willing to speak with him, but that's not on Friss.
Friss captures the intimacy of receiving recommendations and discussing books at local indie bookstores. However, my GoodReads friends and those who I follow are really much better arbiters for the genres I choose to read - a heartfelt thank you goes out to all of you, whether we are friends or I am just a follower. I take my smartphone everywhere when I do go to used bookstores or drive to Barnes and Noble so I can see everyone's reviews before I make any impulse purchases.
I give this book my highest recommendation.
August 12, 2024
This is not a full history of bookstores in America. It is mostly a series of profiles of significant bookstores in the last hundred years or so.
The first sixty pages feature Ben Franklin as a bookseller and the Old Corner Bookstore in Boston. The next three hundred pages take us from Christopher Morley's 1917 book "Parnassus on Wheels" and the traveling bookstores it inspired through to "Parnassus", the bookstore Anne Patchett opened in 2011 as an answer to the Amazon threat to bookstores.
Friss also has chapters on;
the fam0us book department in Chicago's Marshall and Field Department Store,
The Gotham Book Mart, the classic NYC literary bookstore,
The Strand, NYC biggest bookstore,
Barnes & Nobles,
Amazon.
He has a chapter on political extremist bookstores, left and right wing, a chapter of LBGT bookstores and a chapter on sidewalk bookselling. He has interesting vignettes between each chapter.
The bookstore stories are interesting. Friess tends to focus on the marketing and display strategies of the stores. He is good at giving a physical sense of what the stores where like.
He shows how each store aimed at a particular type of buyer. The Gotham Book Store had to be in NYC because it was the only City that had enough of its target highly literary customers. Anne Pratchett in Nashville has done a marvelous job of cultivating readers in her city.
There is very little discussion of the used book market. None of the featured stores are primarily used bookstores.
This is a solid survey of some highpoints and notable moments in American bookstores. It is not fair that I am disappointed in the book because Friss wrote the book that he wanted to write rather than the book I wanted him to write. I would enjoy a full detailed history of American bookstores. That is not what Friss set out to do.
The first sixty pages feature Ben Franklin as a bookseller and the Old Corner Bookstore in Boston. The next three hundred pages take us from Christopher Morley's 1917 book "Parnassus on Wheels" and the traveling bookstores it inspired through to "Parnassus", the bookstore Anne Patchett opened in 2011 as an answer to the Amazon threat to bookstores.
Friss also has chapters on;
the fam0us book department in Chicago's Marshall and Field Department Store,
The Gotham Book Mart, the classic NYC literary bookstore,
The Strand, NYC biggest bookstore,
Barnes & Nobles,
Amazon.
He has a chapter on political extremist bookstores, left and right wing, a chapter of LBGT bookstores and a chapter on sidewalk bookselling. He has interesting vignettes between each chapter.
The bookstore stories are interesting. Friess tends to focus on the marketing and display strategies of the stores. He is good at giving a physical sense of what the stores where like.
He shows how each store aimed at a particular type of buyer. The Gotham Book Store had to be in NYC because it was the only City that had enough of its target highly literary customers. Anne Pratchett in Nashville has done a marvelous job of cultivating readers in her city.
There is very little discussion of the used book market. None of the featured stores are primarily used bookstores.
This is a solid survey of some highpoints and notable moments in American bookstores. It is not fair that I am disappointed in the book because Friss wrote the book that he wanted to write rather than the book I wanted him to write. I would enjoy a full detailed history of American bookstores. That is not what Friss set out to do.
November 3, 2024
Books about books often win a high ranking in my book, and Friss’ anecdote-driven tome about bookstores is no exception. It offers something for every bibliophile regardless of reading preference or geographical locale.
From overviews of Ben Franklin’s involvement in the business and thumbnail sketches of several “little, mighty, and resilient independent” shops, to the origins of behemoths such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble, Friss’ work provides a fascinating glimpse into the industry. True, this isn’t a definitive or linear look at the history of the American book industry. It’s more of an eclectic collection of vignettes about a diverse number of bookstores that touches on their marketing tactics, their challenges and some of the colorful characters behind these enterprises.
Like any smorgasbord, not every literary morsel will delight every reader. A few chapters were a tad tedious. The nice thing about this book’s structure is that a chapter or two can be skimmed or even skipped without hurting the overall reading experience.
The book is laced with some “fun facts,” including profiles of sidewalk booksellers and allusions to "bookstore tourism." Also, who knew there was a law on the books for a short period that prevented booksellers from discounting new titles?
The clear takeaway is that bookstores possess magical powers that can help shape our communities.
From overviews of Ben Franklin’s involvement in the business and thumbnail sketches of several “little, mighty, and resilient independent” shops, to the origins of behemoths such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble, Friss’ work provides a fascinating glimpse into the industry. True, this isn’t a definitive or linear look at the history of the American book industry. It’s more of an eclectic collection of vignettes about a diverse number of bookstores that touches on their marketing tactics, their challenges and some of the colorful characters behind these enterprises.
Like any smorgasbord, not every literary morsel will delight every reader. A few chapters were a tad tedious. The nice thing about this book’s structure is that a chapter or two can be skimmed or even skipped without hurting the overall reading experience.
The book is laced with some “fun facts,” including profiles of sidewalk booksellers and allusions to "bookstore tourism." Also, who knew there was a law on the books for a short period that prevented booksellers from discounting new titles?
The clear takeaway is that bookstores possess magical powers that can help shape our communities.
September 1, 2024
An absolute delight for anyone who thinks there’s magic inside of bookshops.
August 25, 2024
A pleasure to read. Not exhaustive, but selective--featuring shops that represent various stages and styles in the long story of bookselling. Of course none of "my" favorites were featured, though Politics and Prose was mentioned occasionally. Nevertheless I'll add my 2 cents:
Growing up we had no bookstore in town, so the local library was the main source of books.
Apart from books I bought for college classes, I really didn't start gathering/collecting books until a retiring professor put a bunch of his books outside his office, and I thought I had found a goldmine. (Though don't think I have any of those books anymore.)
In grad school at UCLA I think I mostly relied on the university bookstore, though I bought some books at Westwood Books (I think it was called--no longer around). But I spent some summers in Chicago and I fell in love with my first independent bookstore--Great Expectations, in Evanston https://chicagoreader.com/news-politi... . A marvelous place with an impressive collection of Philosophy books. Allegedly it was once mentioned by Umberto Eco as one of the great bookstores! (It went out of business in 2001.)
Moving to Blacksburg, we had Books, Strings & Things--that sold books and records https://that70sblacksburg.blogspot.co... . That was also a wonderful place, and especially as a source of bootleg CD's in the '90's! It went out of business in the late '90's and was bought out by Booksmith, which hung on for a few years before it too went out of business around 2000. In the era before the internet and pre-Amazon I would study the latest Books in Print to find obscure books that interested me. Then I could order them through BS&T.
I remember discovering Amazon in 1999. I'm sure I used it, but more for used books than new. I really fell in love with Borders. Especially one near where my parents lived between Akron and Cleveland. They had a whole aisle of Philosophy books, though it gradually shrank over the years! (They went out of business in 2011.)
My wife's family lives in Greensboro, so I was delighted when Scuppernong Books opened there around 2014 https://www.scuppernongbooks.com/ . I have enjoyed supporting them, and they have done a lot to become a community site. So it created a real dilemma for me when an independent bookstore finally came back to Blacksburg in the form of Blacksburg Books https://www.blacksburgbooks.com/ . Neither store has a very large inventory, so I mostly support them by special orders, but now I sort of split my orders between them!
While I still occasionally order used books through Amazon, I have tried to find them first at Zubal Books, in Cleveland https://www.zubalbooks.com/ . They used to be a great physical used bookstore, but a number of years ago they went totally on-line. Oh well.
So that's my story. I'm sure all book lovers have stories about their favorite shops. But this book did a nice job of bringing that all back to mind.
Growing up we had no bookstore in town, so the local library was the main source of books.
Apart from books I bought for college classes, I really didn't start gathering/collecting books until a retiring professor put a bunch of his books outside his office, and I thought I had found a goldmine. (Though don't think I have any of those books anymore.)
In grad school at UCLA I think I mostly relied on the university bookstore, though I bought some books at Westwood Books (I think it was called--no longer around). But I spent some summers in Chicago and I fell in love with my first independent bookstore--Great Expectations, in Evanston https://chicagoreader.com/news-politi... . A marvelous place with an impressive collection of Philosophy books. Allegedly it was once mentioned by Umberto Eco as one of the great bookstores! (It went out of business in 2001.)
Moving to Blacksburg, we had Books, Strings & Things--that sold books and records https://that70sblacksburg.blogspot.co... . That was also a wonderful place, and especially as a source of bootleg CD's in the '90's! It went out of business in the late '90's and was bought out by Booksmith, which hung on for a few years before it too went out of business around 2000. In the era before the internet and pre-Amazon I would study the latest Books in Print to find obscure books that interested me. Then I could order them through BS&T.
I remember discovering Amazon in 1999. I'm sure I used it, but more for used books than new. I really fell in love with Borders. Especially one near where my parents lived between Akron and Cleveland. They had a whole aisle of Philosophy books, though it gradually shrank over the years! (They went out of business in 2011.)
My wife's family lives in Greensboro, so I was delighted when Scuppernong Books opened there around 2014 https://www.scuppernongbooks.com/ . I have enjoyed supporting them, and they have done a lot to become a community site. So it created a real dilemma for me when an independent bookstore finally came back to Blacksburg in the form of Blacksburg Books https://www.blacksburgbooks.com/ . Neither store has a very large inventory, so I mostly support them by special orders, but now I sort of split my orders between them!
While I still occasionally order used books through Amazon, I have tried to find them first at Zubal Books, in Cleveland https://www.zubalbooks.com/ . They used to be a great physical used bookstore, but a number of years ago they went totally on-line. Oh well.
So that's my story. I'm sure all book lovers have stories about their favorite shops. But this book did a nice job of bringing that all back to mind.
October 21, 2024
This was a fascinating account of the history of bookstores in the US from Benjamin Franklin to prominent shops throughout the decades. Fueled by the passion of book lovers from the owners to the customers, The Bookshop is an ode to the love of books and those who dedicate their lives to the sharing and curating of the written word.
August 28, 2024
I loved reading about the history of the American bookstore. Evan Friss travels back in time and around the nation to show the history and current status of the bookshop. It amazing how much has changed but how much more has stayed the same. It seems as though there has always been an imminent disaster awaiting bookstores in the form of new technology, declining readership, and bigger and badder competitors. I was struck at the importance of organization for a store, how placement can literally change how "people thought about books, they way they related to one another, and which books customers discovered." I thought the most helpful information was in looking at the failures of Amazon to start their own string of bookstores. They shuttered them all in March 2022. This book made me reminisce about my various bookstore visits across the USA over the past 30 years. It brought back fond memories.
November 11, 2024
This was an interesting history of bookstores. I learned a lot of new things about booksellers. A little long in parts, but I do appreciate what I discovered in this book.
August 16, 2024
Didn't mention Book Culture, -1⭐.
Otherwise, a well put together brief history of book shops. The main takeaways are bookstores have always been fighting goliaths, us govt, dept stores, Barnes and Noble, and now Amazon. Ben Franklin was the GOAT Bookseller of all time.
The book also does a good job of portraying the role of the book shop in the community, how the stores function, and unique and quirky book shops.
Otherwise, a well put together brief history of book shops. The main takeaways are bookstores have always been fighting goliaths, us govt, dept stores, Barnes and Noble, and now Amazon. Ben Franklin was the GOAT Bookseller of all time.
The book also does a good job of portraying the role of the book shop in the community, how the stores function, and unique and quirky book shops.
August 17, 2024
A very readable, well-paced basic history of bookstores in the US, and probably a great pick if you don’t know a lot about the topic.
Personally I was hoping for something a bit more esoteric, or at least broader in scope. I would have preferred a lot more early history and less common information than things like another re-explanation of the trajectory of Barnes and Noble, which has been repeatedly summarized in basic news articles for years.
There’s more here about “outsider” bookstores than I would have preferred, not because these aren’t extremely important to the history of bookshops, but because the author is saying largely the same things about each one, so this section (which accounts for maybe a third of the book) could have been cut down into a chapter or two and left more space for more interesting and less commonly discussed bookish history.
I’m also not certain focusing purely on American stores was a good decision. There’s brief mention of basics like Daunt Books and the bouquinistes on the Seine, but it’s just rudimentary background information.
In all, I loved the spirit of this book and I think it’s a good place to start if you don’t know much about bookstores, but for great enthusiasts of the topic or those who have some background knowledge, you’re unlikely to get much out of this.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
Personally I was hoping for something a bit more esoteric, or at least broader in scope. I would have preferred a lot more early history and less common information than things like another re-explanation of the trajectory of Barnes and Noble, which has been repeatedly summarized in basic news articles for years.
There’s more here about “outsider” bookstores than I would have preferred, not because these aren’t extremely important to the history of bookshops, but because the author is saying largely the same things about each one, so this section (which accounts for maybe a third of the book) could have been cut down into a chapter or two and left more space for more interesting and less commonly discussed bookish history.
I’m also not certain focusing purely on American stores was a good decision. There’s brief mention of basics like Daunt Books and the bouquinistes on the Seine, but it’s just rudimentary background information.
In all, I loved the spirit of this book and I think it’s a good place to start if you don’t know much about bookstores, but for great enthusiasts of the topic or those who have some background knowledge, you’re unlikely to get much out of this.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
August 21, 2024
4.5 stars rounded up........"Bookshops are dreams built of wood and paper. They are time travel and escape and knowledge and power. They are, simply put, the best of places.” – Jen Campbell
I could not agree more........so therefore, this book about my favorite of places was at the top of my TBR pile and I must say, it was an absolute delight. The history of the American bookshop is interesting. It is an evolving and fascinating industry. They have always been unlike any other kind of store, shaping readers and writers and influencing our tastes, thoughts and politics. They have been and still are powerful places. This book highlights some of the enduring and endearing bookshops across America for the past 300 years. I enjoyed reading about all of them and was very pleased to see that I had already visited a few (and work at one)......And I was also delighted to add some others to my bookshop bucket list. So I highly highly recommend this engaging, informative and charming book about the very best and wonderful of places!
"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!"- Jane Austen, Pride and Predjudice
I could not agree more........so therefore, this book about my favorite of places was at the top of my TBR pile and I must say, it was an absolute delight. The history of the American bookshop is interesting. It is an evolving and fascinating industry. They have always been unlike any other kind of store, shaping readers and writers and influencing our tastes, thoughts and politics. They have been and still are powerful places. This book highlights some of the enduring and endearing bookshops across America for the past 300 years. I enjoyed reading about all of them and was very pleased to see that I had already visited a few (and work at one)......And I was also delighted to add some others to my bookshop bucket list. So I highly highly recommend this engaging, informative and charming book about the very best and wonderful of places!
"I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!"- Jane Austen, Pride and Predjudice
September 4, 2024
A more apt yet equally dull title for The Bookshop would be The Bookseller as the featured players here are less the spaces themselves than they are the dedicated owners and shoprunners behind them. The thirteen profiles here cover 250 years and include U.S. booksellers from Ben Franklin to Marcella Burns Hahner to Ann Patchett. Friss’s writing is sometimes slipshod, but he almost makes me feel guilty for checking out my copy of The Bookshop from my local library rather than buying it from an indie seller.
October 16, 2024
A distinctive look at bookstores both independent and superstore and how they’ve revolutionized the community. I loved it😭 Always will miss Borders but Barnes & Noble will forever be my safe space❤️ now I desperately want to visit Ann Patchett’s bookstore, Parnassus too😭😭
October 20, 2024
An excellent book about the unique stories of booksellers and their stores. My parents owned a bookstore growing up. One day I would like to open one myself.
August 22, 2024
Marshall Field's was the Amazon of bookstores?! I learned SO much about bookshops and publishing from this audiobook :) The history of Barnes and Noble, Borders, and my personal favorite as a kid-WaldenBooks was so interesting!! I always stop at the Barnes and Noble in Lexington KY on my way from MI to SC. I was the girl who asked the Easter Bunny for books instead of candy so it's not surprising that I love books about books, right?
Shelved as 'dnf'
September 9, 2024Really lost momentum on this one and finally just worked up the courage to drop it! Pretty hyper-focused on NYC to a boring degree. Normally wouldn't bother me, but felt like it needed to pick a lane between being a "definitive" history and exploring the bookshop through specific stores' stories. Maybe it settled more into one or the other in the second half, but I wouldn't know! (On account of, as you've read here, me getting bored!)
November 4, 2024
If I wasn’t already a lover of bookstores, this history through case study would make me one. Every chapter was about a different kind of bookshop. And every chapter made me want to travel to another city the shops it had.
August 19, 2024
This book goes through the history of the American bookstore starting with Benjamin Franklin and coming up to today (Amazon, Parnassus in Nashville). It deals with independent book stores along with chains. It discusses our buying habits regarding books. If you're a reader who frequents small bookshops, this book is for you.
Personal note: Whenever I travel, I try to always find a small local bookstore and buy at least one book.
Personal note: Whenever I travel, I try to always find a small local bookstore and buy at least one book.
September 4, 2024
A book about bookstores, what could be bad? A lot of material about the independent book stores and the difficulties of the business. I now have the names of quite a few new stores to visit as I travel. It was a fun read.
September 22, 2024
A very fun history of the American Bookstore. It's funny to see how long people have been discussing about the death of the industry and physical books. Makes me hope that it means if it hasn't died by now, that it never will.
November 9, 2024
I wasn’t too sure about listening to this book but I really enjoyed the history about bookshops. My love of reading began with my dad reading to us before bedtime followed by my elementary school librarian. Thank you Mrs. Heffernan at Frederick Stock school in Chicago. The bookmobile provided by the Chicago Public Library made it easy for me to ride my bike there on Saturdays to find my next book.
I also never knew the history of
Marshall Fields and their bookshop even though I grew up in Chicago.
So much history in this book!
Support your local bookshop!
I also never knew the history of
Marshall Fields and their bookshop even though I grew up in Chicago.
So much history in this book!
Support your local bookshop!
October 31, 2024
Excellent in every way. I feel very fortunate to have had the booksellers’ guardian angel herself once lead me around Parnassus pointing out (and handing me) books I absolutely had to read/buy.
August 12, 2024
If you are a book lover, this history is for you! Yes, I get the majority of my books from my local library, but I also love to spend time browsing in a bookstore. Like many others, I feel that a local book store improves a community. This history is wide reaching, going from Benjamin Franklin's start as a printer and book seller to the role of specialty bookstores and ultimately to the painful impact that Amazon has had on independent bookshops. The author and many of the shop owner's he discusses all believe that book stores are here to stay. And that makes the world a better place!
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