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I have many fond memories of the Waldenbooks I used to pester my parents into taking me to, sitting for an hour as I perused everything they had in the sci-fi/fantasy section, trying to decide how many I could get away with, and which I'd put back if I'd picked too many. Now, I only have a local Borders to pick through.
But, one time, we'd headed up to Berkeley, CA, to visit my aunt. She knew of my tastes. (She'd gotten me 10 of the Asterix and Tintin graphic novels for a birthday present, one year.) She took me over to Telegraph Ave. and introduced me to The Other Change Of Hobbit. It was inauspicious from the outside, being in a strip mall, and having a very small frontage. However, upon entering there was something special about the place. Not that it was decorated fantastically or even especially well, but it had that feeling that everything in it was good. There were lots of shelves, placed somewhat like a maze, containing nothing but sci-fi and fantasy. That was really special all by itself, as it was at least ten times as many of my preferred genre of books as I'd ever seen in one place before.
There were chairs, lounge pillows, and beanbags placed somewhat haphazardly around. The staff was welcoming without being intrusive, and friendly and knowledgeable when asked for help. I was taking my first steps into Roger Zelazny's imagination, and had read Nine Princes In Amber, but needed the rest that were out at the time. The lady I asked, showed me where they were, and then left me to peruse. I pulled out all of them they had, Guns of Avalon to Sign of Chaos, if memory serves, and tucked them under my arm as I wandered further. They had resident cats, as well. One of whom came up and we made friends while I looked over my treasure. I wanted to stay for a week, but we had plans for dinner, and the staff expected to close eventually. :
I didn't get to go back, and a several years later, my aunt told me that the store was gone. I'd figured my chance to revisit was lost, and consoled myself with the local bookstores in SoCal. Now that I've had reason to think about it again, I'm happy to find that they had just moved to a new location and are still there. Perhaps I'll make it a point to go by next time I go see my aunt. Reply
But, one time, we'd headed up to Berkeley, CA, to visit my aunt. She knew of my tastes. (She'd gotten me 10 of the Asterix and Tintin graphic novels for a birthday present, one year.) She took me over to Telegraph Ave. and introduced me to The Other Change Of Hobbit. It was inauspicious from the outside, being in a strip mall, and having a very small frontage. However, upon entering there was something special about the place. Not that it was decorated fantastically or even especially well, but it had that feeling that everything in it was good. There were lots of shelves, placed somewhat like a maze, containing nothing but sci-fi and fantasy. That was really special all by itself, as it was at least ten times as many of my preferred genre of books as I'd ever seen in one place before.
There were chairs, lounge pillows, and beanbags placed somewhat haphazardly around. The staff was welcoming without being intrusive, and friendly and knowledgeable when asked for help. I was taking my first steps into Roger Zelazny's imagination, and had read Nine Princes In Amber, but needed the rest that were out at the time. The lady I asked, showed me where they were, and then left me to peruse. I pulled out all of them they had, Guns of Avalon to Sign of Chaos, if memory serves, and tucked them under my arm as I wandered further. They had resident cats, as well. One of whom came up and we made friends while I looked over my treasure. I wanted to stay for a week, but we had plans for dinner, and the staff expected to close eventually. :
I didn't get to go back, and a several years later, my aunt told me that the store was gone. I'd figured my chance to revisit was lost, and consoled myself with the local bookstores in SoCal. Now that I've had reason to think about it again, I'm happy to find that they had just moved to a new location and are still there. Perhaps I'll make it a point to go by next time I go see my aunt. Reply