John King is #2!

**rb336** · February-10-14, 05:32 PM

In the world

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-...ld-2014-2014-2

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · February-10-14, 05:42 PM

I've never been. I'll go this weekend.

**Jason** · February-10-14, 06:03 PM

There's an incredible number of books there.

The architecture section was, very surprisingly, small. Only half an aisle. Half of which was "technical" books which very few people would be interested in. The remaining books overall didn't seem that interesting. I don't know if it was just really picked over, of if people into architecture never sell their used books. I noted the price of a few of the books and they were comparable to online prices which is good. The Borders in Ann Arbor and the Borders in Grosse Pointe [[while they still existed) actually had better architecture sections, imo.

**Gistok** · February-10-14, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by Jason

There's an incredible number of books there.

The architecture section was, very surprisingly, small. Only half an aisle. Half of which was "technical" books which very few people would be interested in. The remaining books overall didn't seem that interesting. I don't know if it was just really picked over, of if people into architecture never sell their used books. I noted the price of a few of the books and they were comparable to online prices which is good. The Borders in Ann Arbor and the Borders in Grosse Pointe [[while they still existed) actually had better architecture sections, imo.

... more like Architecture books don't stay on the shelves... I think I have about 50 books from there...

**Neilr** · February-10-14, 06:59 PM

The Strand, #5 on the list, is by far my favorite bookstore.

Jason, the Strand's architecture section is quite large - it's a good chunk of the second floor. And you'll need to use a ladder to see the books on the upper shelves.

I travel light when I go to NYC so I always use their shipping service. It's, IMO, quite reasonable particularly if I'm buying a number of books. It's something like $5 for the 1st book then $1 for each additional book. If I expect to visit the store several times during my trip, I do what they call "a combo order" which really saves on the shipping costs.

**ptero** · February-10-14, 07:18 PM

I had the fun of spending an long evening at Powell's in Oregon a cpl summers back. I liked how they shelved new and old all together. Ended up sending a good sized box home to Michigan as I was out there on my motosickle. Hard to compare w/King's. I love both, and the Strand, too.

**MikeyinBrooklyn** · February-10-14, 08:15 PM

Originally Posted by Neilr

The Strand, #5 on the list, is by far my favorite bookstore.

My first time visiting The Strand, a long-out-of-print book I had been looking for was almost staring me in the face when I walked in. Amazing selection of books, and well organized. Also cheap. Downside: living and working with "Strand Snobs." [[Yes, they exist, and they're obnoxious).

**downtownguy** · February-10-14, 08:52 PM

I love the smell of John King Books. It rates right up there with Lafayette Coneys.

**Mackinaw** · February-10-14, 10:17 PM

Love seeing this. Well deserved!

**Danny** · February-10-14, 10:21 PM

I have been to John R. King. It's Michigan largest used book store.

**DetroitPlanner** · February-10-14, 10:33 PM

Never considered it to be an industrial Wasteland.

There is a cool bookstore in Columbus in the German Village http://www.bookloft.com/

Don't go there if you are claustrophobic, there are lots of tight spaces.

**poobert** · February-10-14, 10:34 PM

"Standing defiantly amid one of Detroit’s many surreal, post-apocalyptic ruin-scapes is a place that has to be experienced to be believed: John King Books. Converted from an abandoned 1940s glove factory, John King is a five-story wooden maze stuffed stairwells-to-ceilings with used and rare books — one of the largest and strangest collections in North America. The staff lives for your oddball, out-of-print request, but the true pleasure of this mad repository is getting lost. Cardboard signs, musty paperback aromas, and a hand-scrawled map out of a Wes Anderson panic attack are your only tour guides as you lose track of time and the person you came with. Outside, it’s urban decay. "

Anybody else really bothered by this?

The area around John King isn't really dramatic urban decay. It is a generally occupied, if somewhat uninteresting, portion of a somewhat typical looking Midwestern downtown. There isn't anything "post-apocalyptic" for miles. There's a community college, a Burger King, a TV station, and other boring not-scary crap.

Whatever hipster idiot wrote that can fuck the fuck off.

That said, John King is the balls and was cool before Detroit was cool.

**Danny** · February-10-14, 10:36 PM

You can find old classic books about Karl Marx and Communist Theology books, there. Other long lost western philosophy books, too.

**DetroitPlanner** · February-10-14, 11:04 PM

Originally Posted by poobert

Whatever hipster idiot wrote that can fuck the fuck off.

That said, John King is the balls and was cool before Detroit was cool.

Dude you got a lot of anger issues. f-this... f-that. That is no way to go through life.

Have you ever considered accepting Jesus Christ as your savior?

**poobert** · February-11-14, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

Dude you got a lot of anger issues. f-this... f-that. That is no way to go through life.

Have you ever considered accepting Jesus Christ as your savior?

Already have.

I drink and I swear. It's part of who I am. Nothing to do with anger or issues or anything. While we're on the subject, you appear to be far from perfect, but that's none of my business. I could go on...

As the song goes, I'm a rambler, I'm a gambler, I'm a long way from home, and if you don't like me then leave me alone.

**rb336** · February-11-14, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by MikeyinBrooklyn

My first time visiting The Strand, a long-out-of-print book I had been looking for was almost staring me in the face when I walked in. Amazing selection of books, and well organized. Also cheap. Downside: living and working with "Strand Snobs." [[Yes, they exist, and they're obnoxious).

I want to point out that, at least in my experience, the staff are not snobs.
There is definitely a snobbish attitude among a number of the customers. When I worked at the Borders WTC, we had an extremely knowledgeable staff and the folks at Strand knew us. I had more than a few customers come in saying that the Strand sent them. They assumed we would not know what they were looking for, we almost always did. The level of shock the SS [[yes, that is what we called the Strand snobs) had in their faces was hilarious.

**MikeM** · February-11-14, 10:27 AM

Ditto the comments on The Strand. Same goes for Powell's, both the regular store and the technical bookstore. King needs to clean the store and toss about 20% of the inventory.

**DetroitPlanner** · February-11-14, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by poobert

Already have.

I drink and I swear. It's part of who I am. Nothing to do with anger or issues or anything. While we're on the subject, you appear to be far from perfect, but that's none of my business. I could go on...

As the song goes, I'm a rambler, I'm a gambler, I'm a long way from home, and if you don't like me then leave me alone.

If the moonshine don't kill me.....

**astongraham** · February-25-14, 01:06 PM

I remember last summer I was sitting at the greyhound bus station in Ann Arbor wait to come home from AA art fair. I met a man from Germany that had come here specifically to attend the art fair then head to King book store. He stated he had wanted to visit the store for many years. He asked many questions about the store and wanted to know where it was in proximity to the Detroit station. Told him he couldn't miss it.
Guess the place is renowned world wide because I had a similar incident a few years prior when I met a person at a coffee shop that wanted to know where the store is, he was from Holand, he stated the store was the centerpiece of his visit.

**DetroitPlanner** · February-25-14, 01:43 PM

Originally Posted by astongraham

I remember last summer I was sitting at the greyhound bus station in Ann Arbor wait to come home from AA art fair. I met a man from Germany that had come here specifically to attend the art fair then head to King book store. He stated he had wanted to visit the store for many years. He asked many questions about the store and wanted to know where it was in proximity to the Detroit station. Told him he couldn't miss it.
Guess the place is renowned world wide because I had a similar incident a few years prior when I met a person at a coffee shop that wanted to know where the store is, he was from Holand, he stated the store was the centerpiece of his visit.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau should feature this prominently! Seems to be buried on their website, no articles about it. Casinos on the other hand....

http://visitdetroit.com/detroit-memb...memberid=23226

**3WC** · February-25-14, 09:03 PM

I love to visit John King Books when I'm in town.

There's another great book store [[actually 4 stores within 3 blocks) that would have made the list had the owner not auctioned off 300,000 of his 450,000 books in 2012.

I'm talking about "Booked Up," the book stores owned by author Larry McMurtry, a few miles south of my place, in Archer City, TX, pop.about 1,800. One of the store is opposite the theater where the "Last Picture Show" was filmed, and later, the sequal, "Texasville" both written by McMurtry of course.

The books were located in 4 stores [[ a converted supermarket, car dealer etc.)

Only one of the stores was staffed. Customers went into the others, browsed for hours and carried their books a block or so away to the store with a couple of clerks, and paid for them.

McMurtry held an auction in 2012 to sell 300,000 volumes and the sale drew people from around the world. I missed the auction but bought a lot of books there over the years, mostly Texas history.The remaining 150,000 volumes are located in the original store [[the one with the clerks.)