My Bookstore Was Gone
With apologies to Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders:
I went back to Bethesda
But my bookstore was gone
There was nothing in the window
There was no note there
Second Story had disappeared
Nothing left that I could see
My bookstore had been replaced
By something Artsy Fartsy
Oh, Ah, So sad Bethesda
So, anyway, another used bookstore bites the dust, this time the Second Story outlet on Bethesda Ave. in Bethesda, Maryland. Hadn't seen that one coming. I'll have to go out to the warehouse in Rockville this next week and get the full story.
We used to have a number of great used bookstores here in Albany, New York, but almost all of them have bit the dust. Many of these dealers can do just as well or better selling online, which also doesn't require them to put in long hours at the store, but something has definitely been lost--the atmosphere of the used bookstore, and the serendipitous discovery of a book you never heard of before that becomes a treasured favorite.
Hey, Glen, they're not gone, they just moved -- they're over by the comic book store now -- same side of the street, a few store fronts closer to Old Georgetown Road.
Don't know if the new location is open yet, but they did have a big "New Location" banner in there a few weeks ago.