"Cover to Cover" on the road

By Stacy Vogel ( Contact ) April 14, 2008 - 11:58 a.m.

I was extra excited to go to San Francisco when my guidebook told me people there buy more books per capita than anywhere in the nation.

While my California friend, Amanda, said that was news to her, I found a great literary atmosphere in San Fran.

My favorite part was City Lights Books, a famous independent bookshop in North Beach, the city's Italian district. The bookstore was a base for the beatnik poets of the 1950s. The owner and manager were arrested in 1956 for selling an "obscene" poetry book, but they won their case in a historic victory for free speech. Today, the store publishes its own books too.

I highly recommend a stop at City Lights to anyone visiting S.F. I went twice and bought a book both times. I mean, a sign in the shop says "Have a seat and read a book." You can't beat that.

Before you post a comment, consider this:

Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy Agreement

Keep it clean. Comments that are obscene, vulgar or sexually oriented will be removed. Creative spelling of such terms or implied use of such language is banned, also.
Don't threaten to hurt or kill anyone.
Be nice. No racism, sexism or any other sort of -ism that degrades another person.
Harassing comments. If you are the subject of a harassing comment or personal attack by another user, do not respond in-kind. Hit the "Suggest Removal" button on offensive comments.
Share what you know. Give us your eyewitness accounts, background, observations and history.
Do not libel anyone. Libel is writing something false about someone that damages that person's reputation.
Ask questions. What more do you want to know about the story?
Stay focused. Keep on the story's topic.
Help us get it right. If you spot a factual error or misspelling, email newsroom@gazettextra.com or call 1-800-362-6712.
Remember, this is our site. We set the rules, and we reserve the right to remove any comments that we deem inappropriate.

Post Comment

Commenting requires registration.

News:

Opinion:

Blogs | Columns | Political Cartoons | What You Think | Polls

Sports:

Multimedia:

Community:

Births | Couples | Obituaries | Death Notices

Blogs

Blog List | Latest Blog Entries

Services:

Copyright ©2007 Bliss Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Use of this material and this site are subject to the GazetteExtra Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Content may not be published, broadcast, re-distributed or re-written.

80°