GOODNIGHT, FUCKERS #605: ANDERSON'S

 You've heard me mention Anderson's as my favorite bookstore before. There are three locations. There is the original in Naperville, which is where authors usually go for signings. I've met a lot of people there, from Clive Barker to Weird Al to Penn Jillette to Dave Barry to Sarah Pinborough to . . . hell, I've met a lot of authors there. It's a great place, and their signings are always worth it.

There is another location in Downers Grove, which is also a pretty good store. It's a good backup if I can't get out to Naperville. And then there's the LaGrange location which I've only ever been to once. Parking is annoying, and I have to walk a distance to get there, which is never good for my bad leg. I also don't like the layout there.

Once upon a time it was easier to get to an Anderson's because there used to be one in Elmhurst a mere ten minutes from my place. I miss that one a lot. Back when I was still doing Tabard Inn I even got issues one and two in there on consignment. It was a great place. Elmhurst really needs a bookstore.

But Anderson's hasn't been in Elmhurst for maybe 20 years. Before that there was this great used book place called the Thrifty Scholar, where I got a lot of awesome books before they disappeared almost overnight. And then there was Ye Olde Book Worm, but I've mentioned that here before a few times. That really was the best bookstore Elmhurst ever had.

Now Elmhurst doesn't have a bookstore. Not really. There's A Book Above behind Mama Maria's on Vallette five minutes from me, but I've only ever been there once. It's more or less a children's bookstore with some stuff for any adults who may be waiting for their kids. It's not a great place. The only time I was there I bought a book just to be polite and left.

We need a real bookstore in Elmhurst again. Every once in a while I fantasize about opening a bookstore of my own, but I know it would fail in no time flat. I know books very well, but business? I have a rudimentary understanding, and that's no way to run a bookstore. Besides, the rental costs for apartments are out of control in Elmhurst. I can't imagine how much it would cost to rent a store.

Until someone thinks to bring a real bookstore back to Elmhurst, I guess I'm stuck driving great distances to get my fix. There's also the Frugal Muse in Darien, which is great, but also it's quite a distance. There's always Half Price Books, but I'd much rather go to indie bookstores. Ah well.

GOODNIGHT, FUCKERS #170: TALKING ABOUT BOOKS I LOVE

You know what you can't get when you buy books from Amazon? I'd forgotten it myself, to be honest. I shouldn't have. It's something so important that I'm ashamed of not recalling this.


When you go to a physical bookstore, you gather together the books you want to purchase. Then you go to the counter to pay for them. The clerk starts zapping your bar codes with the laser reader. And then he or she comes upon one of your selections, and he or she says, "Oh! You love this author's work?!" Or, "I love this book! Let me know what you think of it!" Or something along those lines.


Yesterday I went to Anderson's in Naperville because it's been a while since I've gone to an indie bookstore. Longtime readers might recall that I routinely give this advice: go to an indie bookstore once a month. I fucked up. I'm sorry. But I went yesterday for the first time in a while. I selected books by Bonnie McFarlane, Larry Wilmore, Patton Oswalt and a collection of John Wayne's personal letters. I took them to the desk, and the clerk started zapping the bar codes.


Then she came to Larry Wilmore's book of essays, and she said, "Oh! I love this show! Do you watch this show?" And we spent the next five minutes talking about how awesome Larry Wilmore and The Nightly Show is. This conversation charged me up. I'd completely forgotten about how fucking cool these conversations are.


The last time I went to Anderson's (this one in Downers Grove), I purchased Harper Lee's GO SET A WATCHMAN, and when I went to the counter, I had a wonderful discussion of the controversy about Atticus Finch in this book.


Rewind about ten or fifteen years. I used to work at my local library. Most of my employment there was spent as a page, but the last few years were as a desk clerk. Whenever someone checked out a book I thoroughly enjoyed or a new book by a writer I respect, I always struck up a conversation with them.


I miss that. I really do.


Amazon is pretty cool. They always have what I want. But the indie bookstores are the best. I will never have a book conversation with someone from Amazon as I make my purchase. Once again I advise you all to go to an indie bookstore at least once a month. I hope you do better at that than I usually do.