Book Sculpture by Jim Rosenau

People love new buzzwords and phrases like “the death of print”so much that even lit lovers like (you and) me start to believe it. And since I’m knee-deep in journalism “J-school,” I often see this notion passed around like herpes at a Four Loko-sponsored event. It spreads as fast as mouths can move.

But print can’t die, book-lovers retort. Fine, screw newspapers, they say. But books are personal. You don’t mess with books.

And you know what? They’re right.

I set out to investigate independent bookstores in Los Angeles, expecting to find that shops were closing left and right, sales were down and customers were abandoning indies for e-books, Amazon.com and Borders. I mean, their discount e-mails are incredible, come on.

I was wrong.

Of course, indie booksellers still face the challenges of any small business, but they are loved by their communities. People still seek the well-loved pages of used paperbacks. House cats are still a staple of musty, literary aisles.

Check out this video story about a shop in Echo Park, Ca:

Thanks to Stories Books & Cafe in Echo Park, Calif., and Mrs. Nelson’s Toy and Book Shop in La Verne, Calif., for welcoming me and my little camera into their homes.

If you enjoyed this, check out my first-ever Square Syndrome review, which was about book sculptures and other ways artists repurpose used books for visual art: And Books Are Not Enough