Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Reader's Guide

Not long after we moved to Salem, one of my nieces had her second child. I prefer to give (what I consider) sensible gifts - meaningful, yet useful. I remembered a book I saw reviewed on AM Northwest (Margie Boule & Jim Bosley at that time). It covered at what point a parent should call the doctor when their child becomes ill. When it first came out, I had bought one for myself. It was a good book with plenty of useful information regarding childhood illness.
I began my search by opening up the phone book to scan the listings under bookstores. One name and ad stood out, "Reader's Guide". I liked the fact that they carried both new and used books. I called, was told they had the book and would I like them to set it aside? That was the beginning of a long and happy relationship. When family would come to visit, it was on the list of places to go. When the girls wanted to find a particular book, it was where we headed first. On rainy no school days, it was our first choice of places to hang out.
I read an article in the SJ, about a month ago, reporting that the family who has owned Reader's Guide all these years has sold it. Not only has it changed hands (transaction not complete yet), BUT the new owner has moved it down the street. The new location looks like a warehouse from the outside - I haven't been able to bring myself to venture inside.
I'll miss the old location. I don't know if it was originally built to be a house, but that's the feeling I had as I wandered through the rooms. Best part? The kitchen was always full of cookbooks and other food related tomes.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sad. I was lucky to get into the reader's guide while it was still in its old location.

KandN said...

It is sad, it's like a dear friend leaving town.