A couple of years ago I mentioned the closing of Cody's Books on Telegraph Avenue. At the time, there was still the other location on Fourth Street in Berkeley. Not quite the same, but it was still a pleasant place to go buy books. It had parking nearby, and the Cody's aura still clung to it somehow.
Despite the parking, things did not go well for that store either. When I went shopping there over Christmas, I noticed that the selection somehow seemed diminished and spotty. So when the owners announced that they were shuttering this location and moving to a smaller space, I wasn't totally surprised.
But their choice of location — a storefront in downtown Berkeley with no dedicated parking, which had seen more of its fair share of failed businesses over the years, and which wasn't going to have a computer/technical books section, despite being near the U.C. Berkeley campus — seemed bizarre from the outset.
And sure enough, as of June 20, Cody's is no more.
Yesterday I drove to Border's Books in Emeryville to pick up a couple of design/computer books. There are basically no independent alternatives in the East Bay now for technical books. Stacey's Books is still in the city, but not convenient for me to get to most days. Border's is HUGE, but definitely lacks soul.
I don't think all independent bookstores are in danger, necessarily. There's a fabulous one, Spectator Books, just down the street from us. I do a lot of gift and impulse buying there. But the super-stores are now left to the chains, or online...
