I've only been to Myopic Books once (at least that I can remember). I also went during the pandemic, so perhaps the feel was a bit different at other times, but I had an overall lovely experience. I think going not during the pandemic would just make the place feel even more welcoming.
The one thing that turned me off a bit was that no photos were allowed (so I'm not sure how Myopic feels about the photos being on Atlas Obscura). As someone who loves to take photos, I didn't like this policy. My guess is it is to discourage people from taking photos of books and then buying them elsewhere (a common thing, let me tell you as someone who worked at a bookstore before), so I get it, but still...I wish I could've taken photos of the store as it was lovely.
There were books from floor to ceiling and different floors. You get this feeling of being overwhelmed by literature when you walk in--like there's so much to explore. If I hadn't been in a bit of a rush, I would've liked to get kinda lost in the store. There is so much to see. There are at least three floors of full of fabulous books.
I immediately went to the crime section (predictable). It took some work to find it (I had to look in a different section to find a sign), but I didn't mind that because I liked how labyrinth-like the store was. I love the feeling of bookstores that are mazes. I don't go to bookstores with a book in mind (at least not usually, and if I do then I ask someone to help me find it), I go to a bookstore to adventure and find something I didn't expect, to browse titles I may never have heard of or may never have heard of if I hadn't gone browsing.
The crime section was in the basement with a short ceiling and cement (I think?) floor. I wandered around the mystery section which was tucked away at the back of the room in a subroom before finding it. It had too many mafia/organized crime books for my taste, but I found a book about an obscure Victorian murder and promptly found it as an audiobook I could check out (I'm on a budget and have found during the pandemic that I do better with audiobooks than with physical ones).
I could've stayed for a long time in Myopic Books, exploring every magical nook and cranny and finding even more titles that sparked my interest, but I had to get back to my dog and get ready for his training session. Next time I go, I would like to browse the sci-fi and fantasy as well as history sections (and take another peek at the crime section). These are the types of books I generally read, but lately I have been reading more "novels" although each has had a bit of a supernatural twist to it (one featured an apothecary that felt a little magical even though the narrator insisted that it wasn't magic and the other featured a ghost).
I would like to find time to go back to Myopic Books, but it is far for me so it has to be a special trip--maybe someone would like to come with me (and maybe drive me *smiles and bats eyelashes*)?
Have you been to Myopic Books? If not, what bookstore seems a welcoming place to you?
(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)
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