Feature: Howard's Books

Though total book sales were up 1% in 2008 (for a total of $40.3 billion in the United States), big book chains were down (as much as 11.5% for Borders). More customers are turning to online media and Amazon while the bookstores are hurting. The solution? Border's new strategy is to eliminate some of its multimedia to make more space for actual books. More importantly, they are also making room for personal interaction and hands-on book sales.

As Borders struggles to reground themselves in their bookselling roots (the original Borders was a sizeable used bookstore to satisfy the academic community of Ann Arbor, MI) there's definitely something to be said for the traditional, able-to-give-a-good-recommendation-bookstore, but the local shops are hurting, too.

That's why I made my first stop on the path to Chicago independent bookseller nirvana at Howard's Books (2000 Maple Avenue, Evanston). The going-out-of-business signs have been up for a while, with their accompanying 50% off posters, but weren't enough to tempt me out of my busy schedule until now.

*Note: I've noticed that the signs about going out of business are now taken down, though the 50% off ones remain, so it's unclear what will be the future of Howard's Books*


Report and Review:
The actual state of the bookstore is hard to comment on, since it's clear once you're inside that this place is in transition. Whether or not it has always been like this--scattered, a bit disorganized--is impossible to tell. There is a special section for rarer finds, which are my favorite to look at, but less often to purchase (since paying well over the list price is not an easy thing to do when the book is very old and sometimes not in great condition, and rare books sometimes evoke an emotional investment that makes them impossible to turn down). Still, those purchases are the most gratifying and make every booklover's shelf (and soul) more complete. I once found an old, illustrated edition of Les Misérables in Poland that is near and dear to my heart. Nothing in the rare section of Howard's intrigued me, though I considered a 19th century Printer's Guide for a while out of my nostalgic connection to the book creation process. Some of the books are overpriced in my opinion, though the half-off sale makes cost a moot point.

Acquisitions:
Wicked Spanish by Howard Tomb (Workman Publishing Company, 1991) just for kicks since I'm taking Spanish 101 next quarter and I knew my Mexican-American roommate would laugh at it (and me); $2.50 (before the 50%).
Watchword by William Fuller (Flood Editions, 2006), inscribed with "it must be complete to be true" and the author's signature; $7.95 (again before the discount).

Recommendation:
This entire feature is more of an epitaph than a review, as Howard's Books won't be around much longer (see Note); I did overhear, however, that the owner plans to continue selling select books online, where I learned from their site that the 50% off is a continual treat for any book that has been in the store over a year. That's the sort of deal I like to hear. These guys keep a variety, as well as the intent to continually add more titles to their inventory for online sale so check them out for that book you're looking for but just haven't found yet--or to stumble across something interesting like I did.