Bookstore Spotlight: Yesterday's Books

I've been visiting my husband's hometown, Modesto, CA, for about two and a half years now, and every time we've been there we've driven by a bookstore called Yesterday's Books. I never mentioned to him that I wanted to go in because we don't have a lot of extra money to spend on books and I have way too many anyway. However, for whatever reason (possibly because it was a longer trip than we usually take), I brought it up to my husband last week and he agreed that we should stop in. I can't believe now that we've waited so long -- the store was an absolute dream of a bookstore. The entire time we were inside, I was creepily whispering to my husband, "This is a happy place!" and doing a little happy dance of joy.

So here's the lowdown:

Atmosphere
I loved the cozy, packed-with-books atmosphere of Yesterday's Books. It felt somewhat like Shakespeare & Co. to me, with its shelves packed with books and little tables tucked in the different nooks. The difference is that despite the seeming chaos of the shelves, they are all very well organized in both sections and alphabetical order.

Organization
As I mentioned, the organization is excellent at Yesterday's Books. It was very easy to find what I was looking for, and the different sections were easy to navigate.

Selection
Yesterday's Books is a used bookstore, and I've noticed that some used bookstores fall prey to the trap of having nothing but Harlequin romance and Louis L'amour paperbacks. Not so with Yesterday's Books. They had an extensive children's section, which we raided for our coming baby. The trade fiction and classic fiction, the two sections I tend to read most of, were also well-stocked. I noticed that they tended to carry books that are still popular and in demand. While I only glimpsed at the Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Mystery sections, they looked thorough as well. In addition, Yesterday's Books carries DVDs (we bought two), CDs, and sheet music. There is also a display case with several rare books (a first edition of Wuthering Heights caught my eye -- how cool is that?). What I'm saying is, there is something for everyone. I will say I was slightly disappointed by the Teen Fiction section -- there were quite a few books, but none that I was interested in reading. However, I imagine that books tend to move quickly through that section, and of course just because my dream book wasn't there doesn't mean someone else's won't be.

Prices
To me, used bookstores are $1.00 for a hardback, $0.50 for a paperback, so the higher prices at Yesterday's Books surprised me at first. However, the quality and selection are superior, and the prices are still less than half what you would pay for the book new. There is quite a bit of variety in the pricing, but I ended up paying $4.00 for a classic, $7.50 for a paperback that was released last year, $2.00 and $3.00 for picture books, and $6.00 for DVDs. It certainly isn't a cheap bookstore, but I think the prices are reasonable.

Basically, I highly recommend it. I will definitely be returning to Yesterday's Books on future trips to Modesto. It is one of my new favorite bookstores.

The Booksmith

{Image Source}

Over the last month or so I have had the opportunity to do a little bit of traveling, and one of the destinations was San Francisco, for one of my husband's dental school interviews. His interview lasted from about nine am to about three pm, so my father-in-law and I had some time to kill. I knew one of the destinations I wanted to reach was The Booksmith, an indie store I had seen featured in Shelf Awareness a few months previously. Described as "a literary mecca" in the article, I knew it was one of the places I needed to discover in San Francisco (a city I visit somewhat frequently because my husband is from the area).

I was not at all disappointed. Located in the Haight, an area my husband once told me he needed to take me "so I could meet other hippies," the Booksmith's inviting exterior fits in the overall colorful, indie feel of the area while managing to stand out with its beautifully designed sign. The inside was even more of a treat; while I always feel a little rush of happiness in a bookstore (so many books! in such close proximity!), the Booksmith had an added appeal for me by being well-organized while maintaining an air of cozy and somewhat cluttered eclecticism. I could find every section I was interested in without help, and each section had quite a bit of variety.

In the Borders where I used to work (moment of sad silence), the Young Adult section was very large and very prominent. While I love YA, in that bookstore I often felt as if that was all that I was really seeing, and it was hard for me to find new general fiction books to spark my fancy unless I already had in mind what I was looking for. While the Booksmith had a nice YA section, it was refreshing to me to see that it had a much better developed general fiction section with many interesting new reads highlighted. No hate for YA, here -- just glad to find a little more love for adult fiction.

I think the biggest treat for me were the rows upon rows of staff recommendations. Other people's reviews are a big factor for me in deciding what I read -- almost everything I choose is based on blogger or family/friend recommendations. The short but informative cards that literally lined the shelves with comments and recommendations helped me to pick out my eventual choice (Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett) and left me with many more TBRs scribbled on a scrap of paper, most of which I had never heard of before. I love the book blogging world, but we do tend to get hung up on certain titles, and the recommendations at the Booksmith gave me the opportunity to branch out into some interesting books that were either older releases or just not as well known. I would have loved to buy them all -- unfortunately I was being kept to a strict one-book budget (life of a married student and all that).

As I was checked out at the register, I was also impressed with how friendly and helpful the bookseller was. I didn't see his name or else I would give him a shout-out, but not only was he helpful and pleasant, he also recommended two other general interest indie bookstores in the city for me, which I found to be very classy in this struggling economy. I probably will visit them at some point, but now I know I will return to the Booksmith for sure. If you are looking for a fun and quirky little spot where you can discover interesting new reads, the Booksmith will leave you satisfied.

Bookish Spots of Paris: I Love My Blender

Ever since my study abroad in May of 2008, I can't help but feel nostalgic during the month of May. Going to Paris was a childhood dream, and I worked and saved money for the trip for over a year. Spending seven weeks in France whetted instead of satiated my appetite for all things French, and even now I get a little misty when I look back at my pictures. One thing that surprised me was the abundance of fantastic bookshops. For the next four weeks, I want to highlight a bookish spot that I fell in love with when I went to Paris.

This week's spot is I Love My Blender, a fantastic little spot on 36 Rue de Temple that I stumbled across completely by accident. One afternoon after classes, my roommate Lisa and I decided to wander the streets surrounding the our building. There were a few cafes, several expensive boutiques, the panini stands where we bought lunch each day, and a quaint little window, filled with brightly colored objects and books with a sign saying I Love My Blender. We had been told that day in class that we needed to buy a map, so we figured it was as good a place as any. We wandered into the shop, requested a map in awkward French, and were directed to a small display near the cash register by a young, smiling Parisian. As we looked for an appropriate map, I was distracted by the books on the shelves next to the register - I saw French versions of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares, The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, and the Harry Potter books. I thought for a few seconds about buying myself a French translation of one of these books that I loved and knew so well, but decided against it - I wanted to save my money for other things, and I had already brought four books with me.

However, I didn't realize that the forty minute train ride each way from Le Pecq (where I was staying) to Paris would quickly eat up my books, as well as the hour or two we spent in the parks reading and relaxing during the hottest parts of the afternoon (more on that in a future post). Soon I had devoured all my books except A Tale of Two Cities (which I am reading now... I have a complicated relationship with the book). In my French literature class we had just finished reading the madeleine story by Proust (which is stunning in French, I might add) and I decided the perfect souvenir/way to stretch my book-loving mind was to buy a copy of Remembrance of Things Past by Proust. (I had no idea how huge or difficult it was). So I made my way to the only bookstore I knew, I Love My Blender.

After a few minutes of poking through the shelves, the store-owner asked me if I needed help. I explained what I was looking for and he told me that all of his books were either written in English or translated from English into French. Oh. I felt a little embarrassed, especially because this was a young, handsome French man, speaking entirely in

French to me, unlike most of the people I interacted with, who would switch to English as soon as they realized I was American. However, even after I realized the story didn't have what I was looking for, I couldn't drag myself away. Further exploration showed that a little fewer than half the books were in English, with their translated counterparts on the other side. Little signs saying "Read This Book!" in English directed me to some of the owner's favorites.

After that, I stopped into the shop at least once a week, bringing more friends each time. The shop-owner was always friendly and helpful, giving recommendations of different books and having conversations with me about books we had both read. It was nerve-wracking to have these conversations in French, but my enthusiasm for the subject (and slight crush on the shop-owner) kept me persevering. He asked us where we were from and told us we spoke very good French - to this day I don't know if he was sincere or flirting with les filles americaines a little bit, but I do know I turned several shades of red. We talked about Elizabeth Gilbert's writing style and he recommended the brilliant but acid-trippy Cloud Atlas to me.

I don't know if the shop is still there, but I earnestly hope that it is. (I know I have one or two French readers - have you ever been here?) When I return to Paris, 36 Rue de Temple is one of the first stops I want to make. The bookshop led me to some of my favorite books and also some of the best conversations I've ever had in a foreign language.

Oh, and I should mention - I asked him where the name of his shop came from. He shrugged his shoulders. I then asked if he loved his blender and he got this look of utter love on his face and emphatically nodded his head. So there you go.