[Post originally published 2014]
Pasadena has always been a kind of high-culture city. Philharmonic orchestras (until recently we had two), art movie houses, notable 20th Century bungalow architecture, Le Cordon Bleu school and bookstores helped define this city. Garage bands, surfer and skateboarder entrepreneurs, wild and crazy leading edge artists made their homes and livelihoods elsewhere. Sadly, we are down to one philharmonic orchestra and two bookstores.
First Borders books and music closed a couple of years ago and that space still sits empty. Then more recently I heard that Cliff’s Used Books in the Playhouse District had shut down.
Next came Barnes and Noble which occupied a large and very desirable location in the heart of Old Town Pasadena. It closed just a few weeks ago, but the space has already been subdivided into four storefronts, one of which will be occupied by a dress shop. Tesla moved into another one of the spaces.
It was at the L.A. Times Festival of Books that I learned that Book ‘Em, the mystery bookstore in South Pasadena, was closing. When I drove there this morning, I discovered that it’s gone already. There was a lovely note from the owner on the door thanking her customers for 20 years of support.
So now there are just two bookstores: Vroman’s, a 120+ year old independent bookstore that has always been active and involved in local literary affairs, hosting booksignings, author’s panels, etc. and Distant Lands, a travel bookstore that also hosts special events, including and the incredibly popular Monday night presentations by authors who show slides of their travels, and, of course, sign the books. NOTE: Distant Lands closed its bricks-and-mortar store in 2018.
Obviously, Amazon is the big boogie man that finally drove these bookstores out of business. But Amazon wasn’t the first bookstore destroyer. A friend of mine owned a bookstore in Malibu and when Crown Books, the seller of ‘remainder’ books, opened shop across the street, her bookstore suffered and eventually closed. Since then Crown Books has been driven almost to extinction by Amazon, too. The Crown Books in South Pasadena is now closed.
As sad as it is to see all of these bookstores vanish from the city, I have to admit that I no longer buy from Vroman’s, except for birthday cards. I have found that the price differential between Amazon and Vroman’s has, time after time, been significant. Were it only $2, or $3, or even $5 difference I’d buy from Vroman’s. But a $20 difference gives me pause.
Distant Lands, however, is a different story. Their inventory of travel books is amazing! You can also learn to speak Italian, how to pack a suitcase efficiently and buy a Eurail Pass at Distant Lands.
Pasadena also has a splendid public library housed in a beautiful building near City Hall. It, too, is going digital. Patrons can now check out a digital reader as well as a growing inventory of digital content. None of my books have shown up in the Pasadena Library – yet. But I have hopes. Until then you can click on the ebook covers on the right and buy my books from Amazon. The vampire books are humorous!
Another Note: In 2019 a used book store, called Book Alley, opened out near the Pasadena City College and Cal Tech.
