From Tristan Gylberd:
The smaller, the odder, the more out of the way, and the more specialized, the better. That is my philosophy on bookshops. Come to think of it, that is my philosophy on everything else too — it makes for a very interesting life unconstrained by the smothering expectations of the tyranny of fashion or popularity.
Related post: Small, local, old, and particular
I’m curious what he drives, and from whom he buys insurance.
I generally have the same preferences and I’m finding it rather depressing that New York City, where I live, is becoming more and more homogenized.
There are two wonderful bookstores in my neighborhood, Partners and Crime and Forbidden Planet (guess their specialties). The people running Partners and Crime tell me they’re only still in business because they run it more as a hobby than as a moneymaking venture.
The upside is that the internet is one big bag of esoterica. I now read The Endeavour and other specialized blogs over breakfast instead of the New York Times, and have to say I’m happier as a result. It wasn’t like I was actually doing anything other than getting depressed from reading the Times.