A Room of One’s Own

Been to Madison multiple times but just stumbled on this bookstore today. What a great find. Just a lot of excellent books to browse, thoughtfully displayed, along with a fascinating array of unusual greeting cards for every occasion. There aren’t many bookstores like this anymore.

I love this local bookstore. It is conveniently located right off of State Street and only a block from my apartment, which is dangerous. Whenever I come in looking for a particular title, they always have it. They have a great selection so it’s easy to walk away with more than you meant to buy. Customer service is great too. They offered me a discount on a scuffed up new book before I even had a chance to ask for the price to be reduced. This is the only place I will buy my books while I live in Madison.

total sucker for the discount books. found a $ 1 copy of santa evita on the cart outside the shop today. when i stepped inside to pay, i was greeted by the smell of bookcases full of literature… very nostalgic

I’m an
booster and have no «golden age» nostalgia for the lost era of independent bookstores, so a 5-​star rating from me carries a lotta weight. AROO is a great store, though. It’s got a nice selection of academic and non-​academic titles, plus used and new. If you spend even 20 minutes there, you should have no trouble with serendipitous «chance» finds — the one key thing that physical bookstores get you and online ones can’t as effectively. The store is also well-​laid out and conducive to browsing.

I could have spent all day in this bookstore! I spent quite a bit of time in here. There was always a different hall or even a shelf that I realized that I didn’t look at as I was walking around.
The store seems unorganized but everything has a place so it works. The books are reasonably priced. I had no intentions on buying any books but «The Art of Fielding» (a book I’ve been dying to read) was on sale and I couldn’t pass it up!
I’m used to bookstores like Barnes and Noble and while there is nothing wrong with Barnes and Noble, I’m a huge supporter of local business like this one.

Amazing selection, you could spent all day in here, well organized labyrinth and very easy to special order if they don’t have what you need in stock!
They have a bag check for large bags, which at first seemed annoying but actually is really nice so you don’t have to lug around your backpack or large purse while you shop. This place rivals my favorite bookstore in San Francisco, City Lights. I’d go so far as to say it is a local gem!

I had a great time browsing this store. They had so many books to go through. This store is really big and around every corner seemed to be another room filled with books. The store is laid out in an easy to explore manner with all the books clearly organized by subject and author. If you like browsing through bookstores like I do I would tell you this is a must visit store.

Four stars for this bookstore? Madison must be a tough crowd.
This is probably the largest bookstore I ever seen, and I may have missed a room or two. It’s like exploring a maze, and there are little surprises around every corner. Used books are mixed in with new books, with only a little sticker to set them apart, so if you’re looking for a bargain, you’ll have to look closely. But I wound up with two books that I didn’t even know existed, for about half off the cover price. I could easily spend an hour or two wandering around this store – and I did, when my flight home got cancelled – but I could only fit so many books in my suitcase.

I was in Madison for work and I took a 15 minutes walk over to the downtown area specifically for this bookstore. I was in need of a specific book, which they had, along with an amazing variety. The staff were very nice and knowledgeable, and the atmosphere was great. I wish I lived closer!

I’ve only been here once, unfortunately, as I discovered it right before leaving Madison, but hopefully I’ll go back someday!
The bookstore is large — there seemed to be another room off each room I entered! In the back they had a ton of mysteries, including pre-​owned books. I could have spent hours there.
The staff was really friendly, too. You can also order things online, which is great when what you’re looking for isn’t in stock.

«Don’t weep insects — even in the stars lovers must part.» — Issa Kobayashi (1736 – 1828)
Kobayashi is one of Japan’s most popular poets, and his poetry — along with some gorgeous letterpress — is for sale in the form of a card at A Room of One’s Own.
I walked in and spent a half hour just looking at their cards. I bought Kobayashi because I simply could not stop going back to it. Who would I send this card to? What context would make it appropriate? I don’t know… I bought it anyway and carry it in my purse with me everywhere I go.
Written word is something I deeply appreciate. And sometimes, sometimes certain people just strike me. People who are naturally poetic. The well written word woos and caresses the imagination.
Kobayashi wrote over 20,000 haiku in his lifetime. Always poor, he used the dialects of the mountainous villages where he lived to create the childlike simplicity of his reflections. He celebrated the ordinariness and the occasional sacredness in daily life.
I like that. Finding beauty in the everydayness. People like that know what it’s like to live, to see the world as if it is the last moment, every moment. Can you imagine knowing you are close to death (as we all are)? Even soap bubbles take on a certain wonder. I think about that kind of stuff. Like, the fact that I already know where I would go and what I would do on my last breath. It’s simple… I would go get lost in nature, take my shoes off and walk through dew laden grass at dawn, sit under a willow tree and watch the clouds pass by. I know what I yearn for as I get close to leaving this earth, so I make sure to do it now, appreciate and savor it now.
So his words come with me wherever I go, or at least until I find the perfect time to share him with another human being.
Although Pablo Neruda will always be my first and foremost, Kobayashi’s simplicity pulls at me.
And there were more… A woman, round and supple sitting under a large oak tree with a child holding her head in her lap. The picture was simple and it was profound. It was sketched and shadowy. It was the feminine mystique, it was childhood, and a mother’s love.
Can you tell where I bought my mother’s day card this year?
Ok so look, it’s not like I’m some greeting card freak or something, it’s more like these are some really stellar greeting cards that actually struck a chord with me. And they had cards for same sex couples, and adoption, gay marriage, and really badass feminist cards for women of all types and stripes. Inclusiveness is a word that comes to mind, and I like how it feels on my tongue.
Before I knew it I was being told the store was closing, and I didn’t even get to the books…
Next time.