Gem of a Bookstore on the Oregon Coast

(Note: for people who are new to northern California this is a letter to a friend in England, both of us lamenting the trend away from the printed book and subsequent disappearance of bookstores. The location, Gold Beach Oregon is about 5 hours from Lake Shastina; from I-5 at Grants Pass) take 199 to the coast at Smith River, CA which sits on the Oregon border. From there Gold Beach is about one hour north on Highway 101.)

Bob, I cannot resist sharing this unique establishment (www.goldbeachbooks.com) with you after our last exchange on reading. More so because it is now for sale, the founder having passed away earlier this year (http://obits.oregonlive.com/obituaries/oregon/obituary.aspx?pid=177362974).

His four sisters in Portland do not share his bibliophilia and with their own large business interests, they can no longer keep his dream alive. And it would apparently take a lot of attention. The senior clerk said there were over 150,000 collectible volumes stored all over Gold Beach, some in 55 foot trailers, awaiting the now defunct owner’s dream to double the store’s size.

It is the second largest used book store in Oregon but more famously, a rare book collection as well. The second floor (reachable by the only elevator I know of on the small town Oregon coast) is devoted to signed first editions and other collectible originals, one set of the latter that I saw was priced at $15,000 although the title and author escaped me in the rush of the moment.

In this digital and throw-away age it was a treat to visit when we were there in Gold Beach. I found a signed edition of Jurassic Park by Michael Chrichton who was famous also for The Andromeda Strain and several other medical and science fiction thrillers. He lived in Seattle so I bought the book as a Christmas present for my son-in-law.