Acres of Books to Close?

The renowned Acres of Books, a downtown Long Beach, California landmark since 1934, may be in its final weeks or months of business.

The property has been sold to the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency, and the owners are uncertain whether or not they will relocate.

For the better part of a decade I worked within walking distance of Acres of Books, and I spent many happy lunch hours exploring the huge used bookstore's nooks and crannies, praying there wouldn't be an earthquake while I was inside!

The warehouse-like area in the back was a particularly good place to hunt down classic fiction -- I still fondly remember my happiness at locating an autographed copy of Loula Grace Erdman's THE EDGE OF TIME, a "westward movement" romance first published in 1950; I had first read a copy from my high school library and wanted to own a copy and reread it. (I'm amazed to see that the book was reprinted in paperback in 1989.) In the pre-Internet days, combing used bookstores was about the only option for locating out-of-print books, other than mail-order catalogues.

The store definitely closing would be a real loss, although in this day of Internet sales, ABE Books and Amazon used book vendors, not as tragic as it would have been even 15 years ago.

The fun of treasure hunting in actual used bookstores is something special, but as more and more used bookstores close, it seems it's increasingly a thing of the past.

April 22 Update: The sale has been finalized.