Ray Bradbury spoke at Long Beach’s doomed Acres of Books last night. He said nice, touching things about the bookstore and his fondness for it. Right on.
Then he said: “Right now there are no bookstores in downtown L.A. That’s terrible. That’s stupid, isn’t it?” Yeah, sure is. Except Metropolis Books IS in downtown LA, near 4th and main, and has a fantastic selection of literary fiction. It’s a new, wonderful independent bookstore and could use your support, Mr. Bradbury.
Then he said: “There’s no bookstore in Venice, California right now.” Bzzzz! Wrong again. There are TWO independent bookstores in Venice, California. Right now. Small World Books is easy to find — on the boardwalk — and has a well-known bookstore cat. In the retail district on Abbot Kinney, Equator Books features art books, specialty books (from skateboarding to bullfighting) and collectibles. Probably even some vintage Bradbury.
Mr. Bradbury, so many people listen to you, and you’re good at making stuff up. But when it comes to dissing neighborhood bookstores, please make sure you know what you’re talking about.
aw, cut him some slack. i met him a decade ago and he was 138 and crazyish already back then. he was doing a book signing at Thackeray’s in Toledo, and the managers put me back in the breakroom to entertain him because i kept going on about the Martian Chronicles all week. so, while we were watching the clock, i offered to get him some food next door at the bagel shop. he wanted a sandwich and a pickle. he stressed the pickle part because that’s all he ate, squirting pickle juice all over his giant head, not unlike the climax of a pornographic film. and then he noticed my silly Red Wings jersey (hey, i was young and it was game day) he says to me (wait for it…):
“Ohh, I like your indian! Are you an indian?”
you got to admit, the logo does kind of look like a indian headdress from, oh, about 1,000 yards away, you know? and why the hell do the Red Wings have that symbol of a flying tire anyway? so there you go. crazy as a soup sandwich. he signed my “Something Wicked This Way Comes” though. and i ate his sandwich
Hello,
Thanks for the kind words about our bookstore. We’ve been open 1 1/2 years. We love our Downtown customers and those that travel to Downtown to shop at our store.
Thanks again, Julie, Co-owner of Metropolis Books
I find your hatred of Ray Bradbury endearing. You’ve been at it for so long that it’s almost your “fucktard” now.