In downtown LA there is a bookstore called the Last Bookstore. When I first saw posts about the one in Montrose, I thought it was a branch of that store. Nope, this is the Lost, not the last.
On a lovely Spring day I went up there to see.
This is what is out on the sidewalk. I assume that the books and plants come inside every evening. Especially this year, with all the rain.
It is not a huge store, so there is this lovely seeing area at the front. There are plenty of seating areas. I was there about half an hour after opening so no one was actually sitting anywhere.
Then I went on to the entrance – I’m pretty sure these are all live plants. It gets hot and dry here in the summer, do they have someone to just water the plants?
Once inside, there are all these shelves, all at one angle or another. This is both a used bookstore as well as some newer books. Notice, most of the ceiling is green as well. Not something that needs to be watered, but green.
My book club just read this book. Such a small world. Joel sold some insurance policies to the two daughters of Mona Golabek. There is a version that is more appropriate for young children. I do have to say, this is a good book. Another member of our congregation was on one of those same trains from Vienna to London during the Kindertransport. One thing I realized is that, in hindsight their lives were saved. But they lived through the blitz in London, they lost contact with their parents and in most cases – never saw their parents again. In some cases siblings were reunited.
More seating and books.
Records, the old fashioned vinyl kind. I think they rely on donations for both records and books.
In the flower section I found some of the craft books. Not a lot, there were a few quilting books as well.
I wondered if this is a permanent sculpture, like is it glued together? I checked it isn’t. But something I just noticed now, the bottom book is in Yiddish. I do not know what it is about. I can read it, because it uses the Hebrew alphabet, but I don’t know enough Yiddish to understand the words.
There is an in store aviary – not large, but the birds do make noise.
As well as a saltwater fish tank, with quite a few fish and coral and rocks.
More seating, this couch looks quite comfortable.
At the back, an area that might be a coffee area.
The back, which is probably the lobby of the building. All in all, a wonderful place. So many shops along Honolulu Ave have changed hands – the old businesses closed during the lockdown. It is very nice to see something like this. A bookstore is always a good thing.
Leah