Roseman

I’ve been going through my still owned books and noticed that I hadn’t added this one to Goodreads so I added it. Since there is only one other shelving and it has only a one word long review I thought I would also add a review. I didn’t reread the book but I skimmed through it to refresh my memory.

I am not a big shopper. When I was a teen I loved shopping for records and posters and street art but as an adult the only stores about which I still feel enthusiastic are bookstores. In fact, grocery/food stores are the only other types of stores I don’t actively dislike. The exception was Gumps. I loved being in there. I bought lots of gifts there, including wedding gifts, and I bought some things for myself too. I still have a lovely handmade box, made by an artist using many different kinds of wood with a carved tree showing on its top. It was a wonderful store. I grew up with it and visited it for decades. It sold a lot of high end things but also had plenty of easily affordable items. It had wonderful jewelry and many unusual items and items made by local (and maybe not local also) artists.

4-1/2 stars I deducted a half star because while the book’s information and photos are wonderful and give a lot of good historical and other information, I wish they’d included many photos (it was a large store!) of scenes from inside the store in its heyday or at different times. I wanted to see the store again! I’d have loved a complete walk through.

While it does feel incomplete to me it is a beautiful book and I’m glad to have a copy of it.… (mais)