The Last 13 Feminist Bookstores in the U.S. and Canada
In the mid-1990s, there were approximately 120 feminist bookstores in the U.S. and several in Canada, Anjali Enjeti reports at Paste Magazine, but only 13 survive today.
The remaining are stalwarts, having outlasted economic downturns, Amazon and the e-book revolution. Each bookstore hosts numerous events throughout the year, often garnering strong support from their communities, and we’ve listed them below.
People Called Women: Owned by Gina Mercurio (above), People Called Women opened in Toledo, Ohio in 1993. The bookstore specializes in multicultural children’s books, non-fiction, memoirs, lesbian fiction and romance in addition to mainstream books.
Books for women
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50 bits of wisdom from novels
Everyday life is a perilous vortex of confusing decisions, moral dilemmas and social quandaries. Without any useful advice, it can all seem a bit too much to bear. Perhaps you need a literary Magic 8 ball.
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” ~ Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
“Show me a woman who doesn’t feel guilty and I’ll show you a man.” ~ Erica Jong, Fear of Flying
“Never leave a friend behind. Friends are all we have to get us through this life–and they are the only things from this world that we could hope to see in the next.” ~ Dean Koontz, Fear Nothing”
Wisdom from novels
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11 Great Bookstore Names And How They Got Them
Great bookstore names can be sassy, cute, inscrutable, or groan-inducing, Kevin Smokler says at BuzzFeed . When they work, they remind us of the creativity and moxie that makes us love bookstores a whole crazy lot.
Via mobydickens.com
Moby Dickens (Taos, N.M.): A compound of a classic novel and an unconnected author. The logo of this 30-year-old shop specializing in the American Southwest is a whale wearing old Boz’s top hat, as it should be.
Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books (New York City):
Family-run Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books played a key role in the Occupy Wall Street library — and is literal enough to also be called “your conservative brother-in-law’s worst nightmare.”
Great bookstore names
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Top 10 books about missing persons
Novelist Laura Lippman tracks down the 10 best books about mysterious disappearances for The Guardian.
My friend Harlan Coben observed that murder stories may be intriguing, but the open-ended nature of missing person stories make them even more compelling. They are real-life ghost stories, in which those who remain behind are haunted endlessly by the possible fates of those who have left them.
And She Was, by Alison Gaylin: I’m obsessed with memory, in part because I recognise how imperfect mine is. Gaylin comes at it from a different perspective in this, the first book in a terrific series. Private investigator Brenna Spector has a rare (but very real) neurological disorder, one that allows her to remember everything – but only since the moment her own sister got into a strange car, never to be seen again. That childhood tragedy comes back to haunt her when she investigates a missing persons case that appears to be related to the disappearance of a six-year-old girl – and her own life
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn: I read this book in galleys and loved it, but had no idea it would be THE book of 2012. And 2013. And now 2014. (It remained on the New York Times bestseller list into this year and is about to be released in paperback.) At this point, it’s the standard-bearer for crime novels about missing women. Nick and Amy are the perfect couple, except, of course, they’re not and her disappearance – on their fifth wedding anniversary – leads to a twisty, ingenious and wonderfully dark story.
Who is missing
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The 100 Best Comic Book Characters of All Time
When you flip through a comic book, you’re looking at a medium that has existed for less than a century.
With so many stories and characters out there, what still resonates and drives us to the comic store every Wednesday? The Paste staff picks the faces who shaped some of the most compelling narratives in sequential art.
39. V
First Appearance: V for Vendetta #1
Best Writer: Alan Moore, Best Artist: David Lloyd
Like many of the freshly-minted characters from the late ‘80s, V stems from the brilliant mind of Alan Moore. But unlike the comic book caricatures that make up the Watchmen cast, V stands for something a bit closer to reality. The Guy Fawkes-masked man’s intricately rigged destruction of the U.K. government is borderline terrifying, yes, but the blank-faced hero draws us in with his emotional backstory and limitless intellect. Although we never get a look at his face, he leaves us misty eyed at his explosive funeral. — Tyler Kane
Comic book immortals
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Want to buy Dracula’s castle? For a price, it may be yours”
Don’t mind the coffin in the basement. It’s just… window dressing… that’s what it is, yes. And – what? There are ALWAYS bats in these old places, why do you ask?
Dracula’s castle
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Quote of the Day
“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” ~ Flannery O’Connor
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Alma Alexander
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