I’m back from my recently mentioned adventure in D.C., with a sunburn, a camera half full of photos, a rather depleted bank account and a handful of new books. J and I had a lovely time tramping around the Mall, perusing American history at the Smithsonian, chasing double agents at the International Spy Museum, and wandering Old Town Alexandria with our hosts, my pen pal Jaclyn and her husband Steve. It was hot – but we took advantage of cold drinks and air-conditioning whenever we could.
During our four days there, we visited four independent bookstores, beginning almost immediately upon arrival (after a delicious lunch at Teaism). The first stop was Kramerbooks, near Dupont Circle:
The space is smallish, but it’s crammed with an extensive stock and a team of highly efficient employees who wove around customers, shelving and reshelving books. (There’s also a cafe, which we didn’t visit since we had just eaten, but it looked delectable. And I love the ampersands everywhere.) I came away with A Novel Bookstore, which I’ve been longing to read, and the lovely Penguin Threads edition of Emma, which I’ve never read.
We headed down the street to Second Story Books, a quiet, well-stocked used bookstore, where I browsed the fiction shelves for a while.
Then a familiar spine in the biography section caught my eye: the distinctive blue of As Always, Julia, the letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto. Since this book inspired Jaclyn and me to become pen pals, and since I didn’t own a copy, I took it as a sign, and purchased it.
We also hit Politics & Prose, a two-story bookstore I’d read about in Shelf Awareness. It was slightly overwhelming – so many choices! – but I loved the extensive staff recommendations and the themed tables, including this Olympic Fever display:
(That’s J in the background, perusing the politics and current events section.)
I came away with Agatha Christie’s The Secret Adversary (the first in her Tommy & Tuppence series). I could have stayed for hours, but it was time for lunch.
We ended our bookstore crawl on Sunday afternoon with a trip to the Book Bank, in Old Town Alexandria:
On the way out (after nosing around the fiction and children’s shelves), I casually glanced into the sci-fi and fantasy section, and nearly squealed with delight. There, for just $2, was a 1965 Ballantine paperback edition of The Hobbit – the perfect match to my Lord of the Rings set. I borrowed these books from my dad as a college student (after reading his copy of The Hobbit in high school), and I have a deep attachment to that particular edition. I’ve unearthed copies of the trilogy in Oxford, Paris and Boston, and it was so fitting and fun to complete my set with a Hobbit from D.C.
My suitcase was several pounds heavier on the plane ride home, but it was totally worth it.
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Oh, how wonderful. I’d love to see a picture of your copy of The Hobbit. I have a lovely paperback edition from the UK, a Christmas present from my dear friend, David. The cover art on mine is so rich (coming from a person who often judges books by their covers).
I’ve been recently reading some older editions of books. I stole Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children trilogy from my parents (they were going to sell them in a garage sale!). All of them were published in the early 80s. I don’t think they’re quite first edition, but they are so close! Hardbacks with hardly a rip in their dust jackets.
I’ve also recently gotten a old copy of A Wizard of Earthsea from paperbackswap.com. I don’t know if you’d ever want to trade any of your precious books for others, but I still have quite a few I don’t really need anymore, and there are quite a few treasures up on this site.
At any rate, modern covers are nice and chique and all, but I really do prefer older covers and random editions (so long as everything in a series matches).
Congrats on your great finds! Sooo jealous!
Man, I want to go on a bookstore crawl with you some day.
Thanks for the memories. Hope you stopped into Teaism for a chocolate oat cake and tea while you were in Dupont Circle.
I love the Book Bank… it has the best SF/F selection of any bookstore that I’ve ever been to.
So many happy memories at these spots! Capitol Hill Books is also worth a visit (next time!): http://www.capitolhillbooks-dc.com/chbooksdc/.
Before we ever met, I remember coming back to your blog because your Boston books and restaurants and thoughts on transition reminded me of a home I had loved. And now between Teaism and Kramer’s and Politics and Prose, you are giving me a tour of some of what I loved most about living in DC. I loved this, Katie. Thank you.
I wish I would have known you were in town! I would have introduced you to my favorite indie bookstore across the Potomac, One More Page Books in Arlington. Wine, chocolate & books. Pure bliss!
My favorite vacation….exploring the bookstores. I am taking notes in case I am every in DC!
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How is it that I didn’t leave a comment when you first posted this? Thanks for the trip down memory lane! What a fun weekend that was.
It was so fun!