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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
Mother Foucault Bookshop Has The Best Bookstore Name Around. And Now They Bought Their Own Building.
Powell’s is the iconic Portland bookstore, but for real heads, Mother Foucault Bookshop might just edge it out. Specializing in used and rare books, Mother Foucault also hosts performances by local musicians and artists. It’s the kind of place you want in your city if you care about the arts. And like all indie bookstores, MF is subject to the vicissitudes of the economy, labor, and real estate. One thing I have learned covering bookstore news is that the single most stabilizing thing a store can have is ownership of its own space (it is no mistake that the two best-known indies in the US (Powell’s and The Strand), control their own real estate destiny. Mother Foucault has now joined them by forming a non-profit to buy the building in which they currently exist. A Kickstarter to tackle the down payment launched in the fall with a goal of $300,000 that didn’t hit the target, but now they have announced that they had enough to proceed. (sounds like maybe a deep-pocketed individual stepped in?). Whatever happened, bully for them.
Dr. Abbot Reads Books
One of my favorite offshoots of a hit is secondary content plays: quick interviews, fashion recaps, where have you seen them befores, and the like. And rarely, very rarely, do you get something that turns out to be book-related. Someone at Cultured was clearly trolling Shawn Hatosy’s (Dr. Abbot on The Pitt) socials and saw that there were some books on there. So they got them on the horn to ask him about it. I was a little suspicious when he name-checked The Great Gatsby because while it could be true it is also the kind of thing you might just say. But one thing you would not just say is that your favorite recent read is a book about the dictionary called Unabridged. And you know what, if you did happen to think that pretending Unabridged is a book you love, I will still award full marks.
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Leonardo DiCaprio quietly funds a tiny library in the middle of LA
Speaking of books and celebrities, here is a small item I had never heard before: the computer room at the Loz Feliz branch of the Los Angeles public library sits exactly where Leonardo DiCaprio’s childhood bedroom once stood. And when the branch was originally built in 1999, the DiCaprio family kicked in some cash, resulting in the computer room actually being named for Leonardo DiCaprio. Along with containing computer workstations, the room is lined with posters for his biggest hits.