Cody's in Berkeley closing
I’m shocked. A good friend who works at Cody’s Books just called to give me the bad news that the flagship store on Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue will be closing. Cody’s is one of the best-known independent bookstores in America, and an amazing home away from home for those of us lucky enough to call it our local bookstore.
Cody’s Books has been an important part of my life for the past twelve years. I’ve bought at least two hundred books, attended at least fifty author readings, purchased dozens of magazine titles I couldn’t find elsewhere, and had my mind expanded in more ways than I can count inside that store.
I remember:
elbowing my way through a packed crowd to hear Kurt Vonnegut speak
sneaking furtive glances inside the pages of 2600
the excitement of finding the perfect travel novel to give my grandmother the day before a trip to India (An African in Greenland by Tt-Michel Kpomassie; she liked it)
buying myself a copy of the NYRB reissue of A Handbook on Hanging while walking home after a complicated date
getting my new Salman Rushdie novels signed
the rush of meeting favorite comic book artists (Jason Lutes, Adrian Tomine) at sometimes-confusing (but always interesting) comic “readings”
walking up to the information desk time and time again to ask questions, get help with half-remembered authors and titles, pick up special orders, or sometimes just to say hello
buying much of the big stack of O’Reilly books in the BookFinder.com office from the surprisingly large (and very well-organized) computer section
the relief of knowing that there was a clean bathroom on Telegraph Avenue I could use in a jam
over the years, subscribing to nine different magazines that I first discovered at Cody’s
buying my first two Saramago novels from a special display, the week after he won the Nobel prize
the fun of gawking at the books on art, product design, and typography — which I never bought, but it was nice knowing that they were there
the often-succumbed-to temptation of Cody’s front tables, which feature handpicked paperback fiction and non-fiction; there’s always something there worth buying
reading Cody’s Books: The Life and Times of a Berkeley Bookstore, 1956-1977 by Pat and Fred Cody, and wondering what books doused in tear gas smelled like
stopping into the store with visiting friends and relatives, and seeing the quick stopover always turn into an hourlong session of browing and buying
buying Programming Perl back in 1994, when I wanted to start programming for the web
falling sick while in line at a Chitra Divakaruni reading, and getting to know her as a friend years later (she didn’t remember all the hubbub at the end of the signing line)
the discovery of disability studies as a field of human knowledge (I later joined a disability studies reading group)
laughing along with Dave Eggers, as he hawked his new novel
buying Nolo Press’ How to Buy a House in California when my girlfriend and I were thinking of getting engaged and buying a home
buying and reading Edward Tufte’s excellent books on visual design (I later learned he’s a BookFinder.com user)
being thrilled to finally meet Paulina Borsook, years after I started reading her stuff
finding (and buying) a spiral-bound book of translated Tagore poems self-published by a friend; Cody’s was one of the few local bookstores willing to stock a few copies
meeting up with friends at 7:30pm readings, and getting together for dinner afterwards
running into friends and acquaintances at those readings, some of whom I mostly saw at bookstores
discovering the world of zines and small press magazines (I remember picking up issues of Bunnyhop, In/Formation, Factsheet 5, Adbusters, Bitch, the Baffler, etc.)
carefully perusing the list of upcoming readings every month, online or in the monthly mailings
posing with Charlie in the science fiction aisle, for a profile of BookFinder.com published in a local newspaper
buying my favorite map of Berkeley from the front counter (the map’s well laid out and laminated; I often carry it in my bag)
seeing two close friends join the store’s staff, joining the ranks of the always-smart, always-helpful crew of Cody’s bestsellers
dreading walking by the financially deadly combination of Cody’s on one side of the street and Amoeba Music on the other
dreading the even deadlier combination of Cody’s at one end of the block, and Moe’s Books (4 stories of used books) at the other
Comments
And I remember working there when the new edition was just being constructed.... but book lovers move on and Cody's Books has other branches (down on 4th Street near Spengler's, just off Union Square in the City) so the bookselling goes on.
Posted by: John Baby! | May 10, 2006 10:48 AM
I'm in shock myself, your "good friend who works at Cody's Books" just called me and I had the odd reaction of tears. Something about the closing of an independent bookstore, let alone Cody's on Telegraph is just...depressing.
Posted by: Nicole T. | May 10, 2006 11:23 PM
Did you hear why they are closing? I wonder why knowone is offering to buy them out.
Posted by: Dustin | May 11, 2006 3:38 PM
From Cody's Books' own website:
Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue To Lose Cody's Books; Cody's Remains Strong on Fourth Street in Berkeley and on Stockton Street in San Francisco
[Wednesday, May 10, 2006 10:48 AM]
May 10, 2006
Andy Ross, owner and president of Codys Books, Inc., has announced that Codys oldest store, on Telegraph Avenue near the University of California in Berkeley, will close its doors on July 10, 2006.
Cody's Books on Fourth Street in Berkeley and Cody's Stockton Street in San Francisco, as well as Cody's School and Book Fair division, remain open, healthy, and intent upon continuing to provide the best of independent bookselling.
Ross noted the fifteen-year sales decline in the south-of-campus area, resulting in Cody's Telegraph Avenue doing only one-third of the business it did in 1990. The company's attempt to keep this store open has caused a loss of over $1,000,000.
"It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that Cody's will be closing our doors at the Telegraph Avenue store for the last time on July 10. We will continue to operate our stores on Fourth Street in Berkeley and on Stockton Street in San Francisco.
The Telegraph store has been declining in sales for more than 15 years. We are now doing only 1/3 of the business that we did here in 1990. We have lost over $1,000,000 attempting to keep the store open. As a family business, we cannot continue to afford these ruinous losses.
The book business has changed over this period. Many of our customers have found other sources for their books. In particular, the Internet has taken quite a bite out of sales, particularly the scholarly and academic titles that have always been our specialty.
This is Cody's 50th year in business and our 43rd year at this location. During this period, Cody's has been engaged in the great issues of our time. As America increasingly turned to huge mass merchants and disembodied Internet retailers in their buying habits, Cody's always urged people to support stores in their communities.
During the 60's, Cody's was part of the great anti-war movement that began in Berkeley. In 1989, we were the first victim of international terrorism in the United States. We were bombed during the Rushdie Affair. After the bombing, Cody's staff voted unanimously to continue carrying The Satanic Verses, even in the face of threats to our lives. This was a great and heroic act of commitment to humanistic values by simple booksellers. It was truly our finest hour.
Throughout this period, we spoke of the dangers of economic concentration in bookselling on the part of chain stores. Sadly our warnings have come to pass. Stores like Codys have become truly rare. The few that remain are cherished by their communities.
Cody's is an idea, not a building. That idea will endure in our other stores on Fourth Street and in San Francisco.
We leave Telegraph with great sadness, but with a sense of honor that we have served our customers and our community with such distinction; and that in our own way, we have changed the world for the better and will continue to do so.
Thank you, dear customers, for giving us that opportunity."
Andy Ross
aross@codysbooks.com
(510) 845-9096
http://www.codysbooks.com/news.jsp;jsessionid=8F54FE622872A1383B8AE3CCB2420147#183
Posted by: John Baby! | May 11, 2006 6:21 PM
Things I remember about visiting Cody's:
1. Wasting 30 minutes trying to find parking.
2. Observing a mother of two school age children walk to the front of Cody's, only to rush quickly away when hostile, drugged out panhandlers blocked her way and demanded money from her.
2. Getting harrassed by hostile, drugged out panhandlers as I walked into the store.
3. Being follwed to my car by one particularly scary drugged out panhandler.
4. Discovering my car had been scratched and dented while it sat in the too-narrow parking space in the dimly lit, urine-smelling parking garage that Cody's offers validation for.
5. Vowing to never step foot in that particular Cody's again, despite the fact that they had the greatest books and the greatest staff. The store has two additional Berkeley locations that are not dangerous, nor smelly, nor impossible to park at.
Cody's is great, yes. But Telegraph Avenue is a disaster, and more businesses than Cody's are noticing a loss in revenue because very few people feel safe shopping there. It is not only the Internet that is responsible for shutting down a brick and motar store like Cody's. The other two locations are doing wonderfully.
Posted by: Jen | May 18, 2006 10:50 AM
Just a correction or two:
There is only one other Berkeley location, although there is a Cody's in San Francisco.
There are not doing wonderfully by any parameters that I know of.
Posted by: Mitch | May 28, 2006 12:21 AM