Update: "Buy a Book, Save a Store" (First Pub. Random Lengths, June '20)

Below you may find updated information about the bookstores I reported on in my article, "Buy a Book, Save a Store" pub. in Random Lengths, June 2020. 

First here's the link to the original article (if it doesn't work, try copying and pasting it in your browser): 

https://www.randomlengthsnews.com/archives/2020/06/12/buy-a-book-save-a-store/28501?v=7516fd43adaa 

Now for updated information on how the stores are doing business while complying with COVID safety regulations:

Page Against the Machine

Web: https://www.patmbooks.com/

Address: 2714 E. 4th Street, Long Beach, CA 90814

Phone:  562-588-7075

Hrs. 11-6 every day, except closed on Mondays.

Chris Giaco, the store’s owner, says he has never completely closed up since, in a half-joking way, he considers a bookstore an essential business for the dissemination of information.  He’s stocked up on science and medicine books, especially on the plague of 1918.

“I didn’t have an online store before this started,” he says, so his website is up and running now, “I started from zero. When I launched the website, I didn’t even have 100 books, not even a fraction of what’s in-store.”

Most of his business remains in-store however. Giaco says he’s had a steady trickle of orders during the COVID-19 emergency. He noticed, for example, an immediate bump in demand for racial-related books after the Minneapolis police-involved killing of George Floyd on May 26.

Another of Giaco’s specializations is local authors, “it’s part of the socially conscious mission of the store,” he explains, “Any kind of poetry and writing is, almost by nature, subversive.” He sells used books, but he doesn't buy them.

COVID policy for in-store shopping:  per City of Long Beach regulations only three people allowed in the store at once (25% capacity) and everyone must wear a mask.  Cleaning and sanitizing is done regularly. Curbside pick-up is an option.

If shopping online try browsing the categories under the "shop by subject" tab. For example, don't search "Ramones." Instead click on "Music & Film." When I did, I found Mickey Leigh's I Slept With Joey Ramone sold out,  but I did find some other vintage punk available, including Billy Bragg's book The Three Dimensions of Freedom and Alice Bag's autobiography.

 

Book Off

Address:  1610 Redondo Beach Blvd., Suite E-8, Gardena, CA 90247

Web: https://www.bookoffusa.com/bookoff-gardena-store/

Phone:  310-532-5010

Book Off is a chain but the Gardena location has an advantage over its other local branches during the COVID-19 shutdown, because it’s in a storefront while the others are located inside enclosed shopping malls. It’s sometimes identified as the chain’s Los Angeles location because it sits in a mini-mall within the Los Angeles strip.

Different from many competitors, Book Off specializes in Japanese product, new and used. Here’s a place for Japanese manga (graphic novels), anime (animation) and literature, whether in Japanese, or English translation. You’ll also find a vast variety of entertainment media, new and used—DVDs, CDs, gaming, and collectibles.

Your best bet is to just visit (normal hours are 10-8 daily, but subject to change) and see if either curbside or walk-in business is happening. They'll buy your used manga, books, DVDs, CDs, and similar collectibles.  

 

Skylight Books

Address: 1818 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Phone:  323-660-1175, call between hrs. of 10-2

Website: https://www.skylightbooks.com/

Twitter:  @skylightbooks

Hrs. weekdays 11-7, weekends 10-8

COVID regulations:  in compliance with Los Angeles County Dept. of Health guidelines, everyone in the store must wear a mask covering the nose and mouth at all times. There's a hand-sanitizing station at the door, and plexiglass barriers at the counter. In-store shopping is operating at 25% capacity. 

General manager Mary Williams says the store sells new books only--no buying or selling used books here. She describes the store as “general interest” but specializations include literary fiction, children’s books, and graphic novels. 

Whether you’re shopping for e-books, audio books, or old-fashioned print books, you can either come in during business hours, phone in your order, or browse the store’s website. If you order by phone, you can arrange for pick-up at the door.

Let’s say you’re looking online for two critiques of mass media, one classic, one current. The store’s website lists several editions of Upton Sinclair’s The Brass Check, but none in stock. If you’re interested in the 2002 edition, for example, you’re directed to phone the store.

“We’re probably unlikely to get it,” admits Williams, since it’s out of print and they’ll need to use a search service. “Distributors stopped restocking” during the COVID-19 crisis, she adds.

Ordering a recent best-seller such as Ronan Farrow’s Catch and Kill (paperback, $18.99) is much simpler and more successful. Your biggest hurdle here may be choosing your shipping option. Store members ($25 per year) get free shipping.

Check the website for more information.

 

Hennessey & Ingalls

Web: https://www.hennesseyingalls.com/

Twitter:  @HennesseyIngals

Address:  300 S. Santa Fe Avenue, Suite M, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Phone:  213-437-2130

Hrs. 11-7 seven days a week except holidays.

COVID precautions:  mask-wearing and social distancing is enforced--however, since the store doesn't get crowded, maintaining six feet of distance is easy.

Hennessey & Ingalls specializes in art/architecture/design and was a Santa Monica landmark for many years, but they moved to downtown Los Angeles around four or five years ago. If you click on their “all subjects” link online, you’ll find they have a lot more than art, architecture and design, including poetry and graphic novels.

You may search their website for books, phone to ask what's available, or mask up and visit in person. As for selling used books, an employee suggested I phone before stopping by, to make sure a book buyer is available.