We’ve never understood Austin’s inability to sustain more than a handful of general interest used bookstores. We came of age in secondhand shops in North Carolina (well, and coffeehouse open mic poetry nights – thankfully those wannabe-Beat days are long, long behind us). There’s nothing quite like the pleasure of trolling dusty stacks and picking up cheap reads that have already been lovingly dogeared, enscribed, underlined by countless others.
Which is all to say that it’s very exciting business indeed that the Austin Public Library’s Recycled Reads Bookstore (5335 Burnet Rd.) will be open for business this weekend. According to APL, “Recycled Reads gives books a second chance and will be an active participant in the City’s Zero Waste Plan by ensuring obsolete materials are handled in an environmentally responsible way by keeping these materials out of landfills.”
The store’s grand opening happens Saturday, Feb. 28 from noon to 4pm, featuring food, drink, and live music from the likes of Jon Dee Graham and Jesse Sublett. Not sold yet? There will be balloons.
Go here to find out more, including the store’s hours of operation.
This article appears in February 20 • 2009.
