Jamaica Plain News has some details on the independent bookshop opening on Green Street, just off Centre.
bookstores
A UHub regula who'd rather throw his money towards local businesses instead of online companies named for South American rivers asks where the best places are around here to pick up theology and philosophy books.
The Boston Bibliophile reports Seek Books on Centre Street is shutting down:
I've just about fallen in love with Asimov, the beautiful white bookstore cat, and Jeff and I have made afternoons of visiting West Roxbury- lunch, stops at other shops along Centre Street, a cupcake at Sugar Bakery- every now and then. We found a lot of treasures at Seek, which specializes in classic SF and collectibles and has always had an impressive selection for the small size of the store. We bought some things yesterday and we are going to try to stop by before it closes for good. If you're in the Boston area, do him a solid and help take some inventory off his hands before he departs for New Mexico.
Pazzo Books, at the other end of Centre, announced in January it was shutting down as well, which will leave West Roxbury with only the book section at the Hallmark store.
Tom Nealon reports he's shutting Pazzo Books on Centre Street in late March:
While the rare books side of the business has thrived (and will continue online, at fairs, and by appointment), the rest of the business has continued to be challenging. When it came time to renew my lease, I just couldn’t pull the trigger and after much deliberation, decided that shuttering the shop was the best thing to do. ...
The Friends Booksale has Portuguese Books! Get them while there here!
Forbes interviews the Harvard Book Store's new owner, Jeff Mayersohn.
I respected his mission, even if I didn’t quite believe in its future. So, Jeff shocked me a couple of weeks ago, when he told me with a certain amount of pride and pleasure that he has been seeing double digit sales growth month by month over the last year.
Brookline Booksmith announced today it's bought out the Globe Corner Bookstore - which had become an online-only venture - and is using its assets to open a "Globe Corner Travel Annex" at its Coolidge Corner store.
The move means impending travelers can now buy any of 2,000 different maps of regions around the world. globecorner.com remains a separate Web site, at least until Booksmith can integrate it into its own Web site.
Wicked Local Cambridge reports a Roslindale couple is working to re-open the shuttered kids' bookstore in the heart of the square. Reopening is sometime this spring.
Jeff Mayersohn, owner of the iconic Harvard Square shop, sent e-mail to fans:
No, not that one. Village Books, 751 South St. in Roslindale, is having its final, down-to-bare-walls sale this weekend - all remaining books 30-50% off and even the furniture and decorations are up for sale.
Matthew I. framed the scene at the Downtown Crossing Borders yesterday.
Chain announces plans to liquidate; means 11,000 employees, including those in Downtown Crossing, will soon be out of jobs:
Subject to the Court's approval, under the proposal, liquidation is expected to commence for some stores and facilities as soon as Friday, July 22, with a phased rollout of the program which is expected to conclude by the end of September.
One of those people who read the Globe even on Saturdays noticed this story, in which the region's paper of record says the closing of the Downtown Crossing Borders would leave Boston with "only one chain bookstore in Boston: the Barnes & Noble in the Prudential Center."
The entire chain is now on the brink of liquidation after the collapse of a financing effort, the Wall Street Journal reports.
It looks like Borders has cancelled its plan to close Downtown Crossing and 50 other stores, in preparation for selling the entire chain to the highest bidder next month. The salesperson who answered the phone yesterday at Downtown Crossing says that liquidation won't start on July 1 as previously announced.
Maybe we'll be lucky and the buyer will keep it open. Meanwhile, if you have a Borders gift card or any loyalty points, you should spend them immediately.
Maureen Rogers is left wondering where she'll go for new books now:
When I saw the news the other day, I immediately dropped in and spent nearly a hundred bucks on books, boo-hooing all the way.
After seeing the rumor posted on Twitter and LiveJournal, I just now phoned the store to confirm. Liquidators are taking over the store on July 1. The store was unable to renegotiate its lease with the landlord under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.