City Books - Pittsburgh, PA

City Books, Pittsburgh, PA

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Readers, how often have I told you that the experience of visiting an independent bookstore is much more fulfilling than simply clicking "submit" and buying online?  Yes, I know I'm preaching to the choir but EVERY single bookstore is unique and special for me.  Such was the case, again, at City Books in Pittsburgh, located on the Northside in the Allegheny West neighborhood.  My visit began with a history lesson of the Allegheny area and its relationship to Pittsburgh (at one time, two different towns).  Also, the proliferation of authors that have lived in the vicinity of the bookstore including Willa Cather, Thomas Bell, Michael Chabon, Nellie Bly, David McCullough, to name a few and EASILY over 100 more (and they're all listed on Wikipedia).  Owner Arlan H. used to lead historical walking tours in Pittsburgh and taught college level literature and creative writing so to say she is knowledgeable is an understatement.  

And then she became a bookstore owner at the oldest bookstore in Pittsburgh, City Books, in 2015.  She is just the second owner of a business that began in 1984.  She no longer gives walking tours but is now the custodian of a space filled with used books and a few new ones by local authors.  They also carry some limited sidelines including candles, postcards, and store t-shirts.  Arlan and the store are stars on Tik-Tok and Instagram and approximately 40% of their sales are made through those sites and I would encourage you to follow the store on either of these.  You can also support the store online through bookshop.org, a site conceived during the pandemic to help indies.

City Books is smallish in size but is able to host occasional events off-site.  One of my favorite things here is what they host in the bookstore.  They support a writer-in-residence program and have a perfect area in the back of the store where they allow accepted applicants to "set-up shop."

I was reminded by Arlan what I have heard from MANY other bookstores that the pandemic was a time of excellent business.  In Arlan's words, customers were enthusiastically supporting the store.  But business has slowed here a bit.  Come on people!  I've given you some tools to work with here.  Buy online via several methods or better yet, pay them a visit.  Embrace this part of Pittsburgh history and propel them onward into a successful future.  Go to an indie and buy a book.  Bonsoir.

JUST FINISHED:  The Story of A Bad Boy, Thomas Bailey Aldrich.  Originally published as a book in 1870, this is a semi-autobiographical story of the author's childhood (pre-Civil War) growing up in New England.  Like kids of any era, he and his friends had numerous capers.  I loved this book because of what you learn about this time in history.  Considered part of a new genre at that time called, Bad Boy Genre, this author was a contemporary of Mark Twain.  Recommended. 

CURRENLY READING:  Lightning Down, Tom Clavin. 

RECENTLY PURCHASED:  The Postcard, Anne Berest.  City Books t-shirt.

Beautiful storefront with lots of window space for natural light. 

One of the large display windows. 

Pittsburgh was, and is, a hot bed of authors. 

Looking into the store from the front entrance. 

View looking to the right from the front entrance. 

This is a must-have for any longtime Pittsburgh baseball fans.  I think this would be a fascinating book. 

Just a few of the items of local interest. 

Browse this area near the front of the store, on the left side. 

Literary themed mini-candles. 

A fun and affordable promotion at many bookstores.  Take a chance!

The perfect place to sample a book. 

Oh for the good old days!

One of my favorite pictures over on the right side of the store.  Let the browsing begin!  

A few of the travel books offered. 

Area in the back of the store dedicated to a writer-in-residence program.  I think this is a fantastic idea. 

Another variety of candles including banned book candles.

With Arlan, the fine owner at City Books.  Thanks for a great visit.

Beyond Bedtime Books - Pittsburgh, PA

Beyond Bedtime Books, Pittsburgh, PA

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Every used book store I visit has its own unique way of keeping a book inventory.  Some use an inventory program and meticulously enter every book so they know exactly what they have.  At the other end of the spectrum are the used book stores that don't even try, simply because of their immense number of books.  Owner Jamie G. at Beyond Bedtime Books has her own method.  Jamie can confidently tell you whether a book is in her store or not.  She relies on her memorization of book covers to know her inventory.  Honestly, this is exactly the talent EVERY bookseller should possess.  It's even more impressive when you consider this store has approximately 75,000 books.  Well done Jamie.

Beyond Bedtime has been around for 13 years, all of them at this great corner location of the business district in the Dormont burrough.  The store is a smallish space packed to the gills with all used books.  Books of local and Pittsburgh interest are among the popular sellers.  There are some greeting cards offered but other than that its just the books (well, and the free Dum-Dum suckers for kids on their way to the children's area).  I was happy to hear that the store did more than merely survive the pandemic by offering free home and front door delivery.  That makes the store success all the more impressive since they don't offer online sales.  

Best of all, Jamie has created a true family bookstore with the assistance of her dad, Jim.  He even helped build some of the bookshelves and I'm POSITIVE his help extends way beyond that.

Readers, here's an additional tip for when you visit this store.  After you finish up at Beyond Bedtime (and buying A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Jamie's best recommendation), stroll down the street for a lunch at Dor-Stop Restaurant, featured on the TV show, "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives".   

If you ever find yourself on Potomoc Ave in Dormont, pay this terrific bookstore and its knowledgeable owner a visit in this vibrant area of Pittsburgh.  Go to an indie and buy a book.  Bonsoir.

JUST FINISHED:  Medicine Walk, Richard Wagamese.  A 16-year old boy was raised by an old man and now he goes in search of a father he has never known and wants to learn more.  Unfortunately, his father is dying and his son Franklin Starlight accompanies his alcoholic father on a journey to the end of his life.  I cannot recommend this author highly enough.  Highly recommended.  Also by this author, Indian Horse.  Outstanding. 

CURRENTLY READING:  The Story of a Bad Boy, Thomas Bailey Aldrich. 

RECENTLY PURCHASED:  The Carnegie Maid, Marie Benedict.

Beautiful display window. 

The store has two large display windows with the entrance between the two. 

Independent bookstores have the most creative sidewalk signs. 

Looking into the store from the front entrance. 

Looking to the left from the front entrance. 

View looking to the right from the front entrance. 

A Beyond Bedtime tradition, free Dum-Dums for the kids.  Way to go Jamie!

A few of the greeting cards available. 

Have a seat and take a book for a spin. 

One of the many book aisles. 

An overview at the back of the store. 

A long aisle of books awaits your browsing.  This is looking from the back toward the front.

An overview looking from the back toward the front entrance.  X-ray vision will enable you to see through the books and book shelves to the front door. 

Through this door to the children's area. 

Wasn't there a movie about flying sharks?  But I digress. 

Overview of a beautiful children's room. 

Another angle of the children's room. 

Pricing guide. 

Kids will love this place. 

Area at back of store. 

One of my favorite things here is the organization of books by author into these boxes.  These line the walls of the store. 

Just look for your favorite author's name on one of these boxes, very easy to find. 

Another view. 

I probably should've picked this one up!

This is practically a Stephen King mecca!

Very cool book art. 

I love this.  A local customer created this miniature version of Beyond Bedtime Books.  You need to see this in person to get a true perspective of this model. 

White Whale Bookstore - Pittsburgh, PA

White Whale Bookstore, Pittsburgh, PA

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Readers, how many of you are fishing enthusiasts?  How many of you are FRUSTRATED fishing enthusiasts?  Tired of spending hours on end with little return on your effort?  Nothing to show for your time other than a handful of nibbles and a few tiny blue gills?  Well, have I got good news for you and I'm not even the slightest little bit of a fisherman.  I just snagged the big catch.  It was way too big for a hook and line and I used no bait but it was an easy catch.  And it was huge.  All I did was park on a side street, walk across to a corner location, and voilà, I captured the easily nabbed white whale.  You can do it too.  It doesn't even move, didn't put up a struggle, and didn't try to get away from me at all.  This white whale will swallow you like Jonah and you won't even try to get out because this one is full of books.  (This opening paragraph proves two things.  I'm no Ernest Hemingway in more ways than one.  I digress.)

Adlai and Jill are the husband/wife owners of the White Whale Bookstore in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh.  They've been in business for about 2 1/2 years and purchased this business that was originally The East End Book Exchange.  The focus of the previous business was used books but the White Whale offers mostly new books with some used also available.  As Adlai told me, they're slowly transitioning to a mostly new book inventory.  They've slowly built the book inventory over time and will continue to do so in the future as they hope to add an inside passage to a next door cafe business.  This will bring a re-configuration of the interior allowing them to add more wall shelving and slowly phase out the used books.  The store offers some locally created sidelines including candles, maps, and journals to name a few.  But other than that, its mostly about the books here.   Best of all, the store is starting to gain some recognition with publicists and publishers as a store for hosting events.  They can host on-site or can hold ticketed events at larger venues as they did for Celeste Ng.

Adlai was great to meet and take time to tell me about the store and the business.  I was happy to hear him tell me that things are going pretty well and they're starting to show some growth.  In a town that has historically had a long used book store tradition, this is great to hear with White Whale's new books.

Ok, forget the bait, rod, and reel.  This is an easy catch.  Visit this fine indie and fake out your friends when you tell them your whale of a story!  Go to an indie and buy a book.  Bonsoir.

JUST FINISHED:  Following Atticus, Tom Ryan.  Tom Ryan is in a rut until he adopts a miniature schnauzer who slowly becomes his best friend.  Atticus M. Finch is no ordinary dog and you have to read this to believe it.  Tom and Atticus set out on an adventure to climb all the 4,000 ft peaks in New Hampshire.  This one will pull at your heart-strings and also provide some good laughs.  Dog-lovers will enjoy this one but there's more to this than a dog and a few mountains.  The dog is unbelievable in this true story.  I loved it.  Highly recommended.

CURRENTLY READING:  Educating Esmé: Diary Of A Teacher's First Year, Esmé Raji Codell.

A great corner location on a busy street.  

Lots of indies put great messages on their sidewalk chalkboards.  

One of the front display windows.  

View looking into the beautiful store from the front entrance.  

Looking to the right from the front entrance.  

Display of popular and recent paperbacks to the left of the front entrance.  

A sign that would be true in almost any independent bookstore.  

A nice place to sit in the front of the store.  Keep an eye on the busy sidewalk AND try out a book.  

Table display of some of the staff picks.  

A few more of the staff picks.  

A very well-curated fiction section.    

For a variety of sidelines, find this cabinet near the check-out counter.  

I absolutely love this lego replica of the store front.  

You can see amazing book art like this at White Whale and in other bookstores.

Partial view of the children's section.  

Just a few of the books by local and regional authors.  

A great seat for a little reader.  

A long book aisle of used books.  This is near the back of the store on the right.  

A very cool tote bag that you'll need for all the books you're going to buy.  

Overview of the store from the back looking toward the front entrance. Thorough readers might recognize the celebrity casually browsing in the center of the store.  Yes, that's my mom. 

Unique greeting cards like this.  

If you don't know who this character is, ask one of your children!  

Literary-themed candles with unique scents.  

With Adlai on the right, the fine co-owner at the White Whale Bookstore.  Thanks for a great visit.