I love the smell of old books. I love cats. I’m a rabid public transportation user. Give me a chance to indulge all three – with a raspberry latte thrown in - and I’m in heaven.
Meet Smedley. He tolerates me, and positively dotes on Mel, the gracious lady in charge of Cover to Cover Books. You can tell from his photo what Smedley thinks of paparazzi.
Cover to Cover Books, 1817 Main Street in downtown Vancouver, Washington, is like the Dr. Who timeship Tardis: it’s bigger on the inside than the outside. The modest entry, crowded between a dog-grooming salon and a nightclub, belies a long store stuffed with selections worthy of hours of browsing. Numerous nooks offer extensive selections for children, mystery lovers, history buffs, literature lovers, and local authors. A red cart offers books for a paltry 25-cents each. Mystery Bags by popular authors and genres pack a rack just inside the door. The store is open from 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Saturday.
Despite its central location off the intersection of Main Street and McLoughlin Blvd., the store is not easy to find by C-TRAN. The nearest stop is two blocks away on Broadway and 19th Street. C-TRAN busses headed north (out of Vancouver) stop here. The next-nearest stop is on Broadway and 16th, three blocks away. C-TRAN’s Trip Planner gives good results for the store.
They accept books in trade. If it’s a title they can resell, you’ll receive in-store credit. The credit is good for their stock or toward an espresso drink!
And I love their philosophy: “Walk into a Borders and see what happens when you ask for the cheapest copy of the book you want.” Like many independent bookstores, they can special order for you. They’ll even call local competitors to see if your book is in stock elsewhere.
Cats rule, dogs drool. You can never have too many books. For more cute kitty photos, icanhascheezeburger is the source.
Comments
I love tail (sic) one. Can't want for number two. C2C is s great place for writer's to gather, especially the first Sat. of each month when authors share their work and craft with the fledglings. There's one this Sat. (May2) at 5pm. Hop on the bus w/ a good book and meet us there.
What a delightful story! You are right, the combination of cats and books is one of those things that makes life worth living; since you also like raspberry lattes and LOLcats, it is obvious that we were separated at birth. ;-)
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