Downtowne Treasure (Hint: It's a Bookstore!)

It is clear that the books owned the shop 

rather than the other way about. 

Everywhere they had run wild 

and taken possession of their habitat, 

breeding and multiplying, 

and clearly lacking any strong hand to keep them down.

~Agatha Christie, The Clocks

We had walked past the little entrance the night before on our way to dinner. Something whispered to me all evening and part of the next day - We are waiting for you. [It was something like that. It could have been the breeze or the cold clogging my ears.] Whatever it was, whatever it said, I knew I needed to see what treasures might be hiding down that small walkway (especially once I finished the book* I brought along for the journey).

3582 Main St, Riverside, CA 92501 - I have always loved passageways...and here the whispers grew louder...

Every good used bookstore offers bargains at the front. This is where I found the book that would take me most of the way home.**

Morning glories lined the fence (I would hear the sisters mention that this was the first time their morning glories had bloomed on "their" side of the fence).

Once inside I was a bit overwhelmed. There are books - owls - art - comics and more. This is a bookstore as bookstores should be. Run by sisters, Nadia and Vera Lee, the Downtowne Bookstore has personality. I loved it! There was something on every aisle and around every corner that made me smile. [The Christie quote really doesn't apply, but sets a tone and I like it.]

Go visit. Wander. You will find something for you (I did***) and maybe a gift or two. The bonus comes if you get a chance to talk to Nadia and Vera and watch them interact with their customers.

Nadia and Vera Lee - I borrowed this photo (at the request of the sisters) from Inland Entertainment Review.****

I love the handy stepladders and shelves that are not so overloaded that you cannot focus.

I love that Patrick O'Brian, one of DH's favorites is parked next to Edna O'Brien, one of mine.

My spot - but I had already found my 50 cent treasure.

I should have focused on cold remedies, but was already a little overwrought. It happens in libraries and bookstores.

A little art and the funnies.

Owls line many shelves along the edges. That's Vera at the desk.

Owls and sewing patterns and silver-plate

Cookbooks were neighbors to diet books.

Judith Viorst lounged a few volumes away from Whittier and Wordsworth. [Okay, maybe it's just me.]

I don't do crosswords, but thought DH would love this one.

The child in me always insists that a bookstore MUST be judged on whether Nancy Drew lives there.

NOTES:

* The Lost Hours by Karen White - horse people and genealogists will enjoy it. It was not my usual read, but fine and fast for the plane.

** The Suspense is Killing Medicine by Thomas Maxwell - a bargain at 50 cents. This was more my kind of book, a murder mystery. While a little busy (maybe too many characters) it was another entertaining and fast read - finished on the last flight home. I suspected, but didn't guess the end until the final pages.

***Two wonderful books on pottery! And they had more, but I reminded myself that I am supposed to be downsizing AND I realized I'd be schlepping the extra weight through a couple of airports.

****December2017/January 2018 issue.  http://inlandreview.com/ier1217/index.html


FINAL NOTE: I walked out of the bookstore and sent a text to my siblings suggesting we open a book/outfitter/craft/antique/sewing/travel store together. Their responses were kind.