I just bought a t-shirt that said:
Eat.
Sleep.
Read.
That's me. That has always been me. My credo, my motto, my raison d'etre. I get lost in bookstores and libraries. I have been admonished for having too many books (I have 5 bookshelves of varying sizes in my home). If I'm not reading an actual book, I'm likely listening to an audiobook. And often, I am reading a book, a magazine and an audiobook (all three) on any given day.
So it will come as no surprise to people who know me that one of my very good friends, Mad Shanny, and I planned our very own book crawl for Independent Bookstore Day this year. And we purposefully didn't stay local.
It all started with us both somehow receiving posts from the San Diego Book Crawl and culminated with us driving down the Southern California coast to meet new bookstores and subsist on peanut M&Ms.
Mad Shanny and I are book nerds. I consider the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books a religious experience and go whenever I can, even if I swear not to a buy a book (this never works....I always buy at least one and this year I came home with a massive tome of The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, a children's book for my nephew, and three boxes of tea). I am an avid library user/goer and I am a true believer in the importance of libraries in our communities (read The Library Book by Susan Orlean....so freakin' good).
So Mad Shanny and I sat down last month and mapped out our game plan. She had never been to the Ripped Bodice before in Culver City, so that was to be our first stop and only bookstore in LA County. We planned 4 more stores in San Diego County and we did not plan to stay overnight. This was going to be a one-day road trip. Plan: meet at 9:45 am Saturday morning to get to the Ripped Bodice by 10:00 am.
We started late.
I think we both anticipated this, and, quite honestly, it didn't bother either of us. Of course, I still wasn't ready when Mad Shanny showed up at my place, so I packed up two extra sweaters, a pair of sandals (it was overcast so the day could go either way) and a bottle of water. I thought about bringing snacks, but Mad Shanny brandished a bag of peanut M&Ms and I figured that would get us through until lunch. Lucky someone thought ahead......
11:00 am, Culver City, CA
What else did we love about this bookshop? The personalized and cheerful service, the detailed decor (and the area for readings was fantastic), the feminist/LGBTQI+ bent, and the adorable one-eyed dog who sat on the counter and welcomed tummy rubs. Oh, and the "Blind Date with a Book" section: what a fantastic idea! They wrap the books and just give hints on the covers:
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| (I should have bought this one: I love werewolves and mermaids.) |
We made a quick pit-stop at the antique store across the street (it's been there for almost three decades), met the Greek-British owner who wished us a Happy Orthodox Easter and then we were off to San Diego!
Mad Shanny is convinced that my Spotify should work in my car (it doesn't) so I asked her to figure out that magic while I drove. No magic, and, ultimately, no phone. My phone was refusing to connect to any internet service and thus, we had to depend on Mad Shanny's phone for navigation and any google research needs along the way.
The ride was interminable. We anticipated the slow-go out of LA, but were completely unprepared for the traffic approaching Oceanside. On the upside, we stopped in a gas station in Orange County and I don't think I've ever been in a cleaner gas station bathroom in my life. It even smelled good. And there was a great sign with very specific instructions on how to wash your hands. (I forgot my phone....no pictures.)
1:45 pm, San Diego
By now, we are starving. We've been snacking on peanut M&Ms judiciously on the ride but now we need real food. But we're on a tight schedule, so we go directly into the bookstore and are welcomed by (cue angels singing) a barely touched, been-there-all-day crudité platter. I ate about two handfuls of broccoli while Mad Shanny downed the carrots, all while I was trying to figure out why there was a loud man's voice booming throughout the store.
It was coming from the author reading his book only 15 feet in front of me. There were about sixteen chairs set up and only one person sitting down. The rest of the customers were milling about. I'm also not generally a sci-fi/fantasy reader (though I do love a good old fashioned monster story), but this store is really wonderful. They unfortunately didn't have the one book I was looking for (oddly enough, since I saw it in their booth at the Book Festival), but I bought a great shirt (above photo).
It is here that I call the Spazz to check in:
GD: "Hey babe, we're in San Diego now."
Spazz: "Great! Where in San Diego are you?"
GD: "I actually have no idea. You can look it up. We're at a store called Mysterious Galaxy."
Spazz: "What's that?"
GD: "It's a book store that specializes in sci-fi and fantasy."
Spazz: "Really?!? Get me a light saber!"
This is my husband.
We make our purchases and our plan now is to find a Starbucks (Mad Shanny found three in the immediate area), grab a cheese or protein box, and move on to the next store. Wherever we were in San Diego at this time, we were in a vortex of big box shopping centers. We realized the first Starbucks was in a grocery store so vetoed that. We drove across the road to the other shopping center, then realized that this Starbucks was inside the Target. Now, on our way to the Book Festival two weeks prior, we stopped at the new mini-Target near my home for me to get some emergency coffee. With two people working behind the counter and everyone wanting something along the lines of a "double decaf skinny latte with almond milk and half whip," that line took ages and I lost a bit of my soul while waiting for my very simple cappuccino. I remind Mad Shanny of this. She's so hungry she is willing to forget that "one-time experience" and try this supposedly-completely-different Target Starbucks.
We practically kill 5 people trying to find a parking spot, then walk a pretty long walk of hunger to the Target. When we get to the Starbucks, not only is there a line, BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE PERSON WORKING BEHIND THE COUNTER. Also, there are no cheese boxes. Still on a very tight schedule, we leave without food or caffeine.
At this point, our time is running out before the next two bookstores close (the only bookstore on our list that's open past 6:00 pm is in Carlsbad and that is easily last on our list). We initially think about cancelling the tiny one in Ocean Beach, but then we decide to go for it anyway because, well, it’s nearest to the beach.
4:10 pm, Ocean Beach, San Diego
It only takes driving in to Ocean Beach to recall that my brother’s yearly boys’ trip was concurrently taking place in that very same area. As we park on Voltaire Street (how apropos!), I text and call the Golden Child. No response. Of course. He’ll claim later that he never got the call or text.
I call my brother’s friend Phil the Mensch who of course promptly answers the phone and says that they’re all hanging out at their rental and invites us over. He texts me the address: they are staying 2 blocks away from Run for Cover bookstore.
So we visit the tiniest bookstore on our list: it is packed, testament to the popularity of the San Diego Book Crawl and the beach. One of our reasons for visiting was to check out the little café in the back; it was cute, but we’re not sure where the food was coming from and no one was using it anyway. There was a cupboard that had foodstuffs on it, so we can only assume this was a Keurig-based café. And why would we want to go to that café anyway when there was an Italian bakery RIGHT NEXT DOOR.
I talk Mad Shanny into visiting my brother’s motley crew, but first....CANNOLI! We run next door to Hungry Lu’s Italian Bakery and Deli where I wait forever for a single cannolo (can’t account for Mad Shanny’s poor palate in refusing one). (Oh, and yes, the singular for cannoli is actually cannolo and we all know how anal I can be about correct usage so you're going to have to live with this until the end of this story.) We run to the car, deposit the lone cannolo, then run-walk to my brother’s boys’ trip rental where we arrive, hang out and talk about them having just seen Avengers: Engame (most loved it, the Golden Child was perturbed that he was forced to sit for 3 hours without any further activity), then left at 4:45 pm.....we still had to get to Warwick’s, the oldest continuously family-run bookstore in the country.
By the way, we still haven’t eaten anything except water and peanut M&Ms.
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| (Thank goddess it was a "sharing size" bag.) |
We are now trying to beat the clock. Despite the time constraints, we take a lovely scenic drive up the coast to La Jolla.
5:30 pm, La Jolla, CA
Holy shit we made it with 30 minutes to spare! Mad Shanny suggests I take a quick bite of the cannolo....it’s beginning to get soggy, but that filling is fucking delicious so it’s worth it. We run around the corner to Warwick’s and rush into the front door only to be greeted with....a gift shop?
We are totally confused, so ask the slightly surly clerk where the books are....she points in a direction that leads us to an entire other store space (connected, of course) that makes up the bookseller portion of the store. We stayed until the store closed and bought books based on staff reviews and recommendations.
The selection was fantastic, but this bookstore lacked the character of the previous three we had visited. I’m not sure what we should have expected, but I think that when I read that it was the oldest family-run bookstore in the nation, I was hoping that it was still in it’s original “Wild West”-looking storefront. It wasn’t. It was in the tony shopping area of La Jolla, just down the street from the Peet’s where we ran to get some drinks to hold us over till we got to Carlsbad.
Unsolicited food review: I tried the Golden Latte (which does sound vaguely perverted) based on turmeric being the new “it” food. It was an espresso-based latte with turmeric and ginger. Good on the first few sips, but then it produced a horrible aftertaste, so I left it unfinished. Not worth it. That’s my review.
As we head back to the car, I remember that I have some old friends in Carlsbad. Why not force Mad Shanny to socialize with more people she doesn’t know? I call and text, no answer. No problem. We head to Carlsbad.
So, remember how we haven’t really eaten all day? And, yes, I took a bite of the cannolo, but only one bite, and couldn’t finish my Golden Latte (ick, yeah, I can’t even write that without wanting to take a shower), so we were pretty desperate when we finally arrived in Carlsbad and beelined for Garcia’s, one of Mad Shanny’s favorite places.
We experience lightning-fast service at Garcia’s and finally satiate our book crawl hunger. Mad Shanny displays her take of the day alongside her Paloma; my saving grace in Mexican restaurants is that I hate tequila, so I can easily say no to Margaritas and Palomas. (My Smith classmates are always surprised by this, given that we had a wild night of debauchery involving tequila where I drank several shots that night.....but that was a few decades ago and I drank shitty vodka and bad boxed wine back then as well. Also, I'd like to point out that I wasn't the one who ended up in the fireplace that night, threatening passersby with a fire iron.)
As we were leaving Garcia’s, I got a text from my Carlsbad friends, K&R, who said they were having a grilling dinner party at home and we should come by. As we head over there, we remember our last bookstore!
8:15 pm, Carlsbad, CA
LHOOQ/EXREALISM
http://www.lhooqxrealism.com/
OMG my favorite of the day. And a bookstore open till midnight? What’s not to like? We were greeted in front by a black cat that was, as cats are, at once friendly and skittish. They had me at the cat.
I had seen this place several years ago but at that time it was in a state of disarray; now it was fully formed, funky and fun, with used and vintage volumes in many genres. Old typewriters and various other antiques were displayed throughout the store. The cash register was antique, but with a modern iPad hidden within for up-to-date transactions.
http://www.lhooqxrealism.com/
OMG my favorite of the day. And a bookstore open till midnight? What’s not to like? We were greeted in front by a black cat that was, as cats are, at once friendly and skittish. They had me at the cat.
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| Yes, she looks like my Persephone....if Persephone was at her ideal weight. |
I wandered to the back patio, still perusing the titles when my reverie was interrupted by Gabriel, who was just lounging there, smoking, and admiring his new crystal. Twenty years ago, I would have probably figured out how to ditch Mad Shanny and engaged with this guy until I could have at least garnered a good snog, but now I’m more interested in book shopping. He was so sweet, though, and when we introduced ourselves, he said “I’m glad I made a new friend tonight.” And yes, it was genuine.
We ran over to K&R’s place, drank some water and watched some middle aged folks sing karaoke (mostly Eagles songs, bringing to mind Lebowski’s famous quote), then used their bathroom and skedaddled. We drove back to LA, hitting enough traffic in Huntington Beach for me to reach over and finish my now very wilted cannolo. Still good, but not as satisfying (and made me nervous the rest of the ride about whether I would get food poisoning; I didn't).
Home by 11:00 pm. 300 miles, 5 independent bookstores, 4 cities, 1 shareable bag of peanut M&Ms.
VICTORY!
