“Throughout my early twenties, books in Los Angeles have served as a way to anchor me to an unfamiliar place. One aspect of my home which I missed most involved my constant obsession with books and surrounding myself with them. However, something makes L.A books different.”
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Los Angeles has always served as a literary touchstone to the world. Not only does the city have an enormous amount of bookstores but a thriving culture surrounding them. Unlike many places, most of the bookstores which propagate the city have the “independent” label. Independent most importantly states how many of the bookstores can stay true to their roots.
However, they also divide the Los Angeles literary community into separate groups. Many people have written about the bookstores but few (if any) have told the story from the people who visit them daily.
“I feel like in the city center people read the same 10 trending books. In other places, people have a more diverse taste,” said Liz Israelian, a Silverlake resident and avid reader about local literary tastes. “In general, people do not make time for slow entertainment anymore,” Israelian added. The big name Barnes and Noble of the city follows a strict set of rules which promote selling the most copies nationwide instead of books which interest the local community.
When investigating the different ways people interact with books at the Last Bookstore, Skylight Books, and Small World Books one can see a clear trend as to what people read where. The three books selected come from “Staff Picks” and represent an interesting cross section of Los Angeles literature.
Last Bookstore Staff Pick
Areas close to the last bookstore such as KoreaTown play host to some of the largest Korean communities in the country. Kai Xie, a local resident of Los Angeles who frequents a local ‘H Mart’ agreed with Zauner’s sentiment of the store feeling like a community: “Every time I go into H Mart I feel a certain comfort. Korean culture feels welcoming to me even as an outsider.” Although Xie has not finished the book he said plans to in the near future.
Skylight Books Staff Pick
Although the book came out in 2000, its lessons about the way people should lovingly embrace others come into full relief now more than ever. Interestingly, Skylight dedicates the whole back section of the store to literary and social criticism. “Anything by Bell Hooks is going to be great. However, I prefer her book A Will to Change,” said Israelian. By far Hooks has exceeded in capturing not only the attention of those at Skylight but those around the country who have read her posthumous writings in a new light.
Small World Books Staff Pick
TheNickel Boys explores the racist and abusive behavior of Florida boarding schools in the 1960s. The book’s titular Nickel Academy serves as the backdrop as the main character experiences myriad sexual and physical abuse- all because he got caught up in a bad situation. Like many of the author’s previous works, Nickel Boys explores times in American history where the black experience has become almost difficult beyond recognition.
More than any other spot in the city, the bookstores of Los Angeles have served as a cultural hub for writers. Stories bookstore, for example, has a patio where both music and comedy shows happen.
People gather on the patio of the store (a small gated area in the back) then migrate inside for $5 beer and cheap coffee. For years, Stories has stood as a landmark of the Echo Park neighborhood. Eli Serepca, a local jazz musician often hangs there.
Eli does so because of the wide variety of musical genres he has discovered simply by hanging around: “I love the performances every week. I’ve discovered a lot of new music at Stories.” Musical and comedy performances happen on the patio weekly.
In an instagram comment, one user said the patio of the store had “some of the most interesting stories in every corner to listen to.” Stories serves as a great example of a creative hangout in the city but more exist (like the Last Bookstore).
The Last Bookstore
The Last Bookstore hides in downtown as a bastion for the literary and visual arts. Also, the store stands as one of the only ones with multiple floors. It immediately evokes an industrial factory turned museum when one walks in.
The industrial space leads to interesting and aesthetic reading areas, filled with tourists. The gallery has local artists of all kinds and especially photographers.
“I’ve never displayed any of my work there but looking through the gallery has always made me want to,” said Eva Lindholm, a local photographer with work throughout the city. “I have shopped there for vintage cameras and film,” she said, referring to the artisan shops which surrond the second floor of the store where the gallery lays.
Skylight Books
As one walks into Skylight Books in Los Feliz they feel a different atmosphere from the Last Bookstore. The tree in the middle of the store makes it feel welcoming. Recent sunny weather in the city has even led many patrons to simply come hang out with the bookstore cat. Israelian, however has a different routine when going to Skylight: “I like to stroll the aisles after a Martini at Figaro (a restaurant next door).”
To the west, Small World Book stands as a gem in the beaches of Venice. Next to a bar, the store frequently gets runoff noise and drunk patrons. Once one steps into the store everything changes. Not only do the books sold reflect the increasingly diverse population of the city but they tell a story about growing inequalities in the world.
Small World Books
Geographically, as one moves closer and closer to the ocean a shift towards narrative happens. Starting at a memoir in downtown, the pendulum swings across staff picks with Small World’s Nickel Boys.
Conversely, going inland towards Skylight one sees a trend towards the theoretical like Bell Hooks.
Hooks and Whitehead, the author of The Nickel Boys, share many similarities between how they view the Black experience in America; a fact which leads to interesting comparison. Many authors such as Whitehead have gathered at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
Every year, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Book serves as a brilliant way to start the summer season. Authors flock to the USC campus in order to show new work and say “hello” to old friends. Among the stores represented, both Skylight Books and The Last Bookstore had booths.
Trendy literary criticism abounded at the Skylight booth. “I saw a rare copy of All About Love and had to purchase. They had all types of goodies in [there],” said Israelian. The festival, spanning two days, had great vibes, food, performances, and even better times.
A typical booth at the festivalBook talks at the festivalArt at the festival
A common denominator of the indie bookstore crowd involves their age. Many of the people living in the surrounding communities come from the mid-twenties age range. Similarly, those who most like reading often come from an intellectual background like Israelian (who holds an advanced degree).
News coverage of Los Angeles Times Festival of Books by KCAL.
Another way of dissecting the literary taste of a certain area involves looking at the gender dynamics of the bookstore communities (which typically skew heavily to the male side).
Language also serves a major barrier. Xie told me he prefers other bookstores in Los Angeles because he reads better in Chinese: “Many times the bookstores don’t even have a Chinese section. But if I can find a popular book in Chinese, I will read for hours… days.”
While the workers and owners of the store make up a significant part, those who read in Los Angeles may play an even bigger role in the literary life of the city. The bookstore culture continues to thrive with the ever growing amount of reading across genres.
