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The Bookshop
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss
10 posts | 6 read | 1 reading | 22 to read
An affectionate and engaging history of the American bookstore and its central place in American cultural life, from department stores to indies, from highbrow dealers trading in first editions to sidewalk vendors, and from chains to special-interest community destinations Bookstores have always been unlike any other kind of store, shaping readers and writers, and influencing our tastes, thoughts, and politics. They nurture local communities while creating new ones of their own. Bookshops are powerful spaces, but they are also endangered ones. In The Bookshop, we see those stakes: what has been, and what might be lost. Evan Frisss history of the bookshop draws on oral histories, archival collections, municipal records, diaries, letters, and interviews with leading booksellers to offer a fascinating look at this institution beloved by so many. The story begins with Benjamin Franklin's first bookstore in Philadelphia, and takes us to a range of booksellers including The Strand, Chicagos Marshall Field & Co., Gotham Book Mart, specialty stores like Oscar Wilde and Drum and Spear, sidewalk sellers of used books, Barnes & Noble, Amazon Books, and Parnassus. The Bookshop is also a history of the leading figures in American bookselling, often impassioned eccentrics, and a history of how books have been marketed and sold over the course of more than two centuriesincluding, for example, a 3,000-pound elephant who appeared to sign books at Marshall Fields in 1944. The Bookshop is a love letter to bookstores, a charming chronicle for anyone who cherishes these sanctuaries of literature, and essential reading to understand how these vital institutions have shaped American lifeand why we still need them.
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Mitch
Mitch
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss
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This is my Sunday ♥️♥️♥️♥️

tagged users iconDGRachel
Amiable I‘m reading this book right now, too! 2d
Aims42 Looks perfect, enjoy ☺️♥️ 2d
AileenRR Tell me more about that candle 2d
62 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Mitch
Mitch
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss
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Thank you @DGRachel - you‘re the best. I‘ve only read the first 20 pages and I know this will be on my best of the year pile. It‘s sooooo good 👍🏼

40 likes2 stack adds
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RowReads1
RowReads1
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss
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41 likes
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MaggieCarr
MaggieCarr
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss
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Pickpick

Sigh. A perfect five star narrative history.

28 likes1 stack add
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Deblovestoread
Deblovestoread
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss
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#AboutABook. #SetinBookstore

I am very interested in this nonfiction book about US bookstores.

@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Sounds interesting! 2mo
Eggs Yes, looks like a good read! 2mo
RowReads1 It‘s on my TBR list too. I saw it for the first time on a certain website the other day. 2mo
52 likes3 comments
blurb
Leftcoastzen
Leftcoastzen
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss
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Someone was bad at B&N ! Well not too bad , McMurtry book on sale , having a magazine sale , who does that? $5 bucks off reward & paid for part with a gift card … still trying to downsize though 🙄I don‘t wear glamorous clothes but always enjoy the September brick of a Vogue !

Ruthiella Nice haul! 👍 2mo
AnnCrystal 👏📚💝. 2mo
51 likes2 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
Hooked_on_books
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss
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Pickpick

What a wonderful book! Friss wisely looks at specific bookshops in depth to paint a picture of the history of bookstores in the US. I was riveted the whole time and definitely learned some things I didn‘t know. And I‘ve discovered that I want to be Frances Steloff. She was amazing!

BethM This sounds lovely! 3mo
50 likes5 stack adds1 comment
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underground_bks
underground_bks
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss
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Pickpick

This history of the US bookstore begins with Benjamin Franklin, bookseller, spans the Strand and specialty stores like Oscar Wilde and Drum and Spear, the big box Barnes & Noble, and Amazon‘s brief brick and mortar stint, coming home to roost at Ann Patchett‘s Parnassus. What I most enjoyed were the characters—“the tsarina,” a trendsetting book buyer for a Chicago department store or the iconic, avant-garde Frances Steloff behind Gotham Book Mart.

Leftcoastzen I loved that department stores used to have book departments!📚 3mo
29 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Aims42
Aims42
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss
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Pickpick

I love a book that teaches me something and I don‘t want to put it down. That was this one, 100%. Reading the first page of the Table of Contents alone gave me a thrill (How does my beloved Marshall Field‘s & Co. relate to books??) and that sensation never dissipated. Keep your phone or tablet nearby while reading, I fell down so many rabbit holes you might as well call me Alice 🐇🫖☕️ Don‘t sleep on this one, publishing August 6, 2024!

Aims42 Themes: Book about Books, Non-Fiction, Fascinating and Easy to Digest History 6mo
42 likes7 stack adds1 comment
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everlocalwest
everlocalwest
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore | Evan Friss
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Pickpick

A delightful history of a deeply romanticized industry with the space to both revel and bemoan. Friss begins his bookseller's tale with Ben Franklin and ends with Ann Patchett running the gamut between. If publishing is dominated by white men, bookselling is the realm of white women and Friss addresses the complications within that while historicizing the mission driven shops created to serve queer communities and people of color.

everlocalwest If you've ever fantasized about running a bookshop, read it. If you've ever patronized a community bookshop, read it. Basically, if you're a reader, read it. 💙📚 6mo
17 likes3 stack adds1 comment