Nightboat Books Enters Midlife

GREW up in Los Angeles in a time before the internet. Bookstores were my entry into the world of culture and business, a way of relating to the world. Near my childhood home, there was a vibrant independent bookstore overstuffed with every new book imaginable. A bookseller there was also a poet and gifted me his new books as they were published. By contrast the chain bookstore where I worked promoted the best-sellers at 40 percent off and sold only the most mainstream of titles. Within walking distance, there were two excellent used bookstores—one of general literary titles and another that specialized in modern first editions—as well as an emporium of fantasy and science fiction books, both used and new, where you could sit in a plastic chair and smoke while you read. I learned the basics of the business, including the fact that every book in the store could be returned to