While in Dutton’s today, I thought about an accelerating trend marking my past 3 years in LA – the shuttering of local bookstores (a trend that doubtless is occurring across the country – Coliseum Books comes to mind).
It’s weird that I’ve come to witness the tail end of some really beloved institutions like Dutton’s. Here are a few LA bookstores that I’ve had the chance to explore… and have since disappeared from the face of the earth:
- Johnny’s Used Books (in Westwood)
- Other Times Books (on Pico Blvd, owned by Andrew Dowdy)
- Dutton’s Beverly Hills
- Dutton’s Brentwood (in a week)
And the thing is – these are all just in West LA … all less than 5 miles from each other. What an inordinate amount of closings in such a small area. I’ve yet to make it down to Acres of Books in Long Beach… but they’re apparently next on the chopping block.
I don’t know what to make of it, but It’s always sad to see a good store (bookseller or otherwise) close its doors.
I try not to be too nostalgic about the passing of an age. I could just as easily have wrote about how it’s gotten a lot cheaper to build a library of used books thanks to online shopping and the new generation of blogs, meetups, and forums that are supplanting the independent bookstore as social institution.
I can’t begrudge the literary consumer for wanting to buy books more conveniently and for less money. But no matter what, the old man in me does still mourn the declining pastime of reading books for leisure.
