So do I. You know that the guy who owned it sold his stock to Chapter 11 Books and became a roving assistant manager for that chain, moving between the Peachtree Battle store where Oxford used to be (if that's even still there - a dog's age since I was last on that part of Peachtree, and that only to indulge myself with what I consider to be the best Whopper to be had anywhere on the planet) and the ones at Cumberland Mall and Gwinnett Place. He gave me his card (I was there for the very last day :-( ), and I've still got it somewhere in my stuff.
---------[ Received Mail Content ]---------- Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] I suffered a terrible lost today Date : Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:50:32 +0000 From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com I only went to SF&M back when it was on Cheshire Bridge, which is fortunately close to where I live. I hated to see it go. -------------- Original message ---------------------- From: "Martin Baxter" > I'm shedding my own fond tears at those passings, Keith. Back when I worked, > I > used to schedule a week of my vacation every year, so that I could hit Oxford > for a couple of days in a row, from opening until I got tired and hungry. And > I > followed the SF&M Bookstore every time it moved, including its final > incarnation all the way up on Shallowford Road at 85. A real haul when you > live > in Stone Mountain, but each time through the door made the trip worth it. > > :-( :-(. > > > > > > ---------[ Received Mail Content ]---------- > > Subject : Re: [scifinoir2] I suffered a terrible lost today > > Date : Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:59:37 +0000 > > From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net > > To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com > > > Sorry to hear that. Where do you live? > > Great tribute you just wrote. I know the feeling. Perhaps the best known > indie > bookstore here in Atlanta--named Oxford--closed its doors several years ago, > a > victim of competition from Borders and Barnes and Noble. Oxford was that kind > of > place too, where you could walk the aisles and find *real* books with old > covers > and a long history. You had a staff that actually knew literature, not people > who are there for a job, trained to serve coffee, and have to consult a > computer > inventory for everything. Oxford was one of the first places to host poetry > and > music nights. There was another store here named the Mystery and Science > Fiction > Bookstore that was also an indie shop, and it's gone too. I can only think of > a > really small number of such places left, and it is painful. > > > -------------- Original message ---------------------- > From: "ravenadal" > > I suffered a terrible lost today. When I picked up my morning paper I > > discovered that, overnight, I had lost an old and dear friend. The > > headline was like a punch in the stomach: Weak sales spell end for 82- > > year old chain. I bought my first book at the Harry W. Schwartz > > Bookshop. In my sane and sober youth I spent hours meandering through > > their original downtown location, a two story emporium that smelled of > > books, dust and mold. I saw Ernest Gaines read there. I saw Gloria > > Naylor read there. I saw Edward P. Jones read there. I didn't meet > > my first wife there but I did gain an introduction to my first book > > club. As I sit here, in my basement office, surrounded by hundreds of > > the thousands of books I own, I realize the Schwarz Bookshops were the > > epicenter of my lifelong love with books. Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops > > to close. Wow. > > > > ~(no)rave! > > > > > > > > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
