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Secret Series: A Guide to LA’s Obscure Bookshops

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

Immersion at and into Children's Book World. Photo by Deborah Stokol.

“I noticed I had developed a fantasy about myself as a writer as opposed to actually doing it, [so] I finally summoned up the bad taste to move to Los Angeles.”

—Leslie Dixon

Perhaps there really is something inherently tacky about Los Angeles.

Whether it’s the mismatched houses, the nouveau riche displays of wealth, or the combination of flip flops with ball gowns, this not-uniform sprawl is undeniably unconventional.

But despite that gaucherie, LA has a pretty long tradition (well, long for a relatively new city) of city-based writers (especially screen writers).

Besides Hollywood’s (questionable) allure, one of the things that draws out-of-towners to this coastal metropolis, or keeps locals from leaving, (besides the weather) is that very bizarre collection of brash traits and “bad taste.”

Despite its “airhead” reputation, LA boasts a diverse population of people who love to read.

It’s no surprise Los Angeles has a slew of Borders and Barnes & Nobles. And I’d be lying if I were to say I wasn’t a fan of these mammoth, warehouse-like book sources, replete with carpets and coffee and couches to lounge on.

But the city’s large, commercial bookstores have a complement in the many independent book shops you’ll find here. LA’s big enough to accommodate those hoping for the practical chain store, with its supply and consistency, as well as the cozy, one-of-a-kind shop.

The Great Gatsby’s Jordan Baker once said she liked “large parties [because] they’re so intimate. At small parties there’s never any privacy.” The same rule goes for wide cities: their size can account for many mounds, crannies, crevasses, variety, and secrets.

Here are five bookshops—small, perhaps even unknown, that grace the city’s many borders.

Children’s Book World

10580 ½ W. Pico Blvd.
LA, CA 90064
310.559.2665
Mon-Fri: 10 a.m.-5:30 a.m.
Sat: 10 a.m.- 5p.m.

It’s hard for me to be objective about this gem. Its enthusiastic employees introduced me to too many of my favorite books growing up. I spent many riveting afternoons there, curled up with an otherwise-impossible-to-find piece of fiction. But even were I not to have the fondest memories of the place, and even were I not to be aware of the fact that those working there know the ins and outs of all pages making their way through the ½ sign door, I would still say anybody with a soft spot for children, or children’s literature, or finger puppets, or story time should make his or her way to this three-room fantastical HQ.

Hennessey + Ingalls

214 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.458.9074
Mon-Sun: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.

Hennessey + Ingalls is beautiful, a real treat to explore. Just around the corner from the 3rd Street Promenade and another from the Santa Monica bluffs, this shop, like Rizzoli and Taschen, is a monument to art and architecture, and books concerning the two. It takes the specialized bookstore to an elegant and almost old-world level—you can almost see a scribe, a quill, and handwritten sets of parchment maps out of the corner of your eye—while offering intricate cards and handmade journals to purchase on your way out as you leave, inspired to create something lovely of your own.

The Mystery Bookstore

1036-C Broxton Ave.
LA, CA 90024
310.209.0415
Mon-Thurs: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Fri-Sat: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sun: 12 p.m.-7 p.m.

An almost subterranean bookstore implausibly hidden between Westwood Village’s Eurochow and a parking lot, the Mystery Bookstores sells books only dealing with mysteries, offering the random and weird in addition to the commercial and easy-to-find. Harried passerbys and sweatershirt-clad students will be surprised at the scope of the Mystery Bookstore’s offerings. They are as likely to find new copies of Agatha Christie and Christopher Pike as they are to see dog-eared copies of Conan Doyle’s works.

Metropolis Books

440 S. Main St.
LA, CA 90013
213.612.0174
Tues-Sat: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sun: 12 p.m.-5 p.m.
Second Thurs of each month (Art Walk): open until 10 p.m.

Straight out of Fritz Lang’s brain and onto the city’s streets, the title of this bookstore fittingly complements its placement in the bleak, post-apocalyptic setting of LA’s Downtown. True, this little section of Downtown is eclectic and funky, attracting a twenty-something crowd to its SoHo-like blocks, but the rest of the general area is stark and almost forbidding. Nevertheless, there’s something truly poetic—almost reminiscent of a comic book aesthetic—about that desolate countenance. It makes escaping into a warm, spacious, brightly-lit, well-stocked, book-filled zone all the more appealing. And once you’ve stepped inside and inched towards the shelves, you can pull a book down, one that’s either new, or was once lovingly paged through by unknown hands, sit on a stool, and begin to read with your coffee beside you and your knees drawn to your chin.

Village Books

1049 Swarthmore Ave.
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
310.454.4063
Mon-Fri: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Sat-Sun: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

LA hipsters have long and disparagingly called the Pacific Palisades a cultural wasteland, full of people more concerned with tennis and tanning than with literary pursuits. But that characterization is unfair. Not-so-hidden at the end of one of the city-within-a-city’s main street blocks, Swarthmore, lies a small, warmly lit, and very welcoming bookshop by the name of Village Books. Veteran employees bake biscuits once a week and pass them around, the back-end children’s section looks like a full nook or one half of an internal brown gazebo, and the multitude of books makes a visitor wonder how so many volumes can fit into so petite a space. What the store doesn’t carry, its workers can order, and this haven has another marked advantage in its very near proximity to the sea.

Honorable Mentions:

Book Soup

8818 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
310.659.3110
Mon-Sun: 9 a.m.-10 p.m.

Vroman’s Bookstore

695 E. Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101
626.449.5320
Mon-Thurs: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Fri-Sat: 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sun: 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Skylight Books

1818 N. Vermont Ave.
LA, CA 90027
323.660.1175
Mon-Sun: 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Portrait of a Bookstore

4360 Tujunga Ave.
Studio City, CA 91604
818.769.3853
Mon-Sat: 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sun: 10 a.m.-10 p.m.

Hi De Ho Comics & Books with Pictures

525 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.394.2820
Wed-Sat: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sun-Tues: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

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Secret Series: A Guide to Some of LA’s Beer Gardens

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Cat & Fiddle, Photo courtesy of Holllie Nell

Cat & Fiddle. Photo courtesy of Hollie Nell.

“Los Angeles is 72 suburbs in search of a city.”

—Dorothy Parker

But what suburbs. They’re like craters on a moon; at first glance, they resemble mere shadows, but reveal themselves to be complicated entities with deep crevices and mysteries of their own. And the beer gardens within LA’s many neighborhoods are like suburbs within suburbs, craters within craters.

Though the beer garden is a concept arising from German culture, I think it finds its best home in year-around warm climates such as the one Los Angeles so gloriously hosts. Patrons may tuck themselves into lattice chairs, pulling into mosaic tables that make a nice counterpoint to surrounding bushes and potted plants. A patio absent of balcony tables can offer benches and long tables that give strangers the chance to meet. Those leery of vodka-soda sipping, fedora-wearing and business card-toting industry types can relax with a pitcher of beer and a basket of french fries, free from Hollywood’s overbearing presence. They can enjoy the fresh air while warming up to heat lamps and a chat beneath strings of Christmas lights or lanterns.

That’s a rather over-idyllic scene, perhaps. But a beer garden by nature (pun-intended), with its fusion of “libations” and greenery, is pretty idyllic. And if a suburb within a suburb should act as an island or vernal oasis, then this brief list of beer garden-eateries fits the bill.

I must, however, begin with a dual-pronged disclaimer. Some of these restaurant-bars are well-known, oft-frequented, but I’ve rarely seen them together in one list. Also, if it’s the city’s best beer you seek, these should not be your principal destinations (try Father’s Office. It garners too much praise for its untraditional hamburger; the more than 30 beers on tap are what stands out most in my memory). I find it necessary to dole out the latter warning because what makes these beer gardens so exciting is not so much the beer (or even simply the ale) they boast, but the atmosphere they present. These magnificent seven are sprinkled throughout the town, do not have dress codes, are not too over-priced (at least for drinks) and make excellent spots for weekend, post-work or after-school merry-making.

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LA Does DNC Part Deux: Annenberg Watches Obama

Friday, August 29th, 2008

“With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States,” said Barack Obama—and the 85,000 strong crowd at Invesco Field went wild. At the same time, the packed crowd of students, TV news broadcasters, professors, and political analysts gathered in Annenberg’s East Lobby at USC last night, also soaked up those words with great enthusiasm and joy.

Minutes before the start of Obama’s acceptance speech, the moderators of the event at Annenberg—Professor Geoffrey Cowan, communication Professor Tom Hollihan, J-school director Geneva Overholser, and Dan Schnur, director of the Unruh Institute and former communications director for John McCain—informally polled the crowd to determine who was still undecided on their presidential pick. Only two hands hit the air.

Guillermo Vazquez, a first year student in the J-school master’s program, admitted that he was still unsure. “It’s easy to go for Obama,” said Vazquez. “It’s the popular thing to do.” After hearing Obama speak last night, Vazquez remained undecided. He’s hoping the upcoming debates between Republican nominee John McCain and Barack Obama will help clear up his uncertainty.

Kevin Patra, another first year student in the J-school master’s program, said that his support for Obama was not an attempt to follow the crowd. “I don’t consider myself a Democrat at all. I’m an Independent,” said Patra. “McCain, over the last four to six years, has proven that he’ll do whatever the Republican party wants him to do. Obama, on the other hand, has a good message of change.”

Guillermo Vazquez and Kevin Patra

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Breaking News: OMG Earthquake!!!

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

CNN is reporting that Los Angeles just had a medium-sized earthquake at 5.8 on the Richter Scale. Located about 30 miles east of downtown L.A, it was about 7 miles deep, which means that the quake feels stronger and cause more damage. Over at the P+P home office in  Santa Monica, our wooden one-story apartment structure sort of felt like it was reverberating. Since we are right near a major street that has lots of traffic blazing past all day, including service and delivery trucks, we at first thought it was a parade of Mack trucks, but then when we noticed the desk seemed to be moving for an extended period, we thought maybe all that teenage substance abuse wasn’t a good thing after all and was coming out to haunt us. Then, we thought we were just going crazy, until all of the neighbors came out simultaneously and we realized, yep, just your average SoCal moderate earthquake!

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