Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Dateline: Iowa
Tonight I'm in Des Moines after a couple meetings with accounts here. I gotta say, independent bookselling is not really happening here in Des Moines.
Iowa City is the place to be. Iowa will always have a special place in my heart because of that town. If this state could be a classic rock song, Iowa City would be my Sweet Home Alabama. PRAIRIE LIGHTS. GO! Talk to Paul Ingram, ask him about books! The man is legend. There are three great bookstores in that town (Iowa Book and Supply and the Univ of Iowa Bookstore are the other two), and they all work together beautifully to fulfill the town's book needs. All are operated by intelligent book people.
I had a good vegetarian meal at the Red Avocado on Washington St and I plan to stay at the Golden Haug Bed and Breakfast next visit. There's a browsable used bookstore two blocks NW of the city center called Northside Book Market.
But oh Des Moines. Shame. You poor Des Moinians.
First, the good news. The Des Moines Art Center has an Excellent collection of 20th century art. The building is inspiring to walk around. I'd go and have lunch in their courtyard. It's worth the view of the IM Pei fountain.
It's important to note that I have yet to find an independent bookstore in Des Moines. So far I've seen two chain shops on the edge of town and a random assortment of used book dealers. A quick search on BookSense.com yielded one store on the ominously named Locust Street. In a fit of despair, and justifying it to myself as research, I went into the BN. It's a monstrous two story building, elegantly built. From the outside I thought something said to me many times today by people in Des Moines...The chains might be serving a purpose here by providing books for an underserved population.
Alas, thankfully, the chain bookstores are still horrible places for books. The trouble I have with this BN is the enormity of the building, but the lack of books inside. The lower level is taken up with widely spaced bestseller tables, a large music/dvd area, and loads of remainders. The second level is really a loft, covering only about a 1/3 of the lower level. The result is an open air feeling, lots and lots of open space. No books. For kicks, I did my Stranger Things Happen test to see if Kelly's book is in stock. No dice. So far I have yet to find it at a Barnes and Noble.
I wasn't desperate enough to go into the Borders.
The next day I was in Ames, Iowa (also trying to find a good bookstore). Luckily I had much better luck. I'm pleased to say that BIG TABLE BOOKS on Main St is an Excellent independent. Right now they're on my Top 10 Bookstores under 1500 square feet. The store opened in the early 90's when 140 residents decided they needed a bookstore and pitched in the seed capital to get one going. That rocks.
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Iowa City is the place to be. Iowa will always have a special place in my heart because of that town. If this state could be a classic rock song, Iowa City would be my Sweet Home Alabama. PRAIRIE LIGHTS. GO! Talk to Paul Ingram, ask him about books! The man is legend. There are three great bookstores in that town (Iowa Book and Supply and the Univ of Iowa Bookstore are the other two), and they all work together beautifully to fulfill the town's book needs. All are operated by intelligent book people.
I had a good vegetarian meal at the Red Avocado on Washington St and I plan to stay at the Golden Haug Bed and Breakfast next visit. There's a browsable used bookstore two blocks NW of the city center called Northside Book Market.
But oh Des Moines. Shame. You poor Des Moinians.
First, the good news. The Des Moines Art Center has an Excellent collection of 20th century art. The building is inspiring to walk around. I'd go and have lunch in their courtyard. It's worth the view of the IM Pei fountain.
It's important to note that I have yet to find an independent bookstore in Des Moines. So far I've seen two chain shops on the edge of town and a random assortment of used book dealers. A quick search on BookSense.com yielded one store on the ominously named Locust Street. In a fit of despair, and justifying it to myself as research, I went into the BN. It's a monstrous two story building, elegantly built. From the outside I thought something said to me many times today by people in Des Moines...The chains might be serving a purpose here by providing books for an underserved population.
Alas, thankfully, the chain bookstores are still horrible places for books. The trouble I have with this BN is the enormity of the building, but the lack of books inside. The lower level is taken up with widely spaced bestseller tables, a large music/dvd area, and loads of remainders. The second level is really a loft, covering only about a 1/3 of the lower level. The result is an open air feeling, lots and lots of open space. No books. For kicks, I did my Stranger Things Happen test to see if Kelly's book is in stock. No dice. So far I have yet to find it at a Barnes and Noble.
I wasn't desperate enough to go into the Borders.
The next day I was in Ames, Iowa (also trying to find a good bookstore). Luckily I had much better luck. I'm pleased to say that BIG TABLE BOOKS on Main St is an Excellent independent. Right now they're on my Top 10 Bookstores under 1500 square feet. The store opened in the early 90's when 140 residents decided they needed a bookstore and pitched in the seed capital to get one going. That rocks.
