Bookstore of the week: Brand Bookshop

Brand Bookshop is the kind of used bookstore that's built for a long afternoon of browsing. It's got rows and rows -- and rows and rows and rows -- of books. And its prices are low. When I was there, I heard two female voices on the other side of a wall talking. The younger said to the elder, with awe, "I can get all these books?"

  Brand Bookshop was opened in 1985 by Jerome Joseph -- now 82, he can still be found in the store five days a week. It's at 231 N. Brand Blvd. in Glendale, a commercial district just a few blocks away from the Americana at Brand mall. There are parking meters out front, and a structure around the block for which Brand Bookshop provides 90 minutes validated free parking. The only catch is noticing that 90 minutes have gone by, and it's time to leave.

Store manager Noriaki Nakano, who has worked at Brand Bookshop since 1993, says, "This store depends on foot traffic."

Brand Bookshop has a kind of personality, a little esoteric, a little goofy. Among the ordered shelves there are hidden surprises, books that have been arranged to tell a story. For example, in the category of literary biography, Neil Gaiman's pose on the cover of "The Faces of Fantasy" has been displayed to echo the photograph on the cover of a biography of Oscar Wilde.

In fact, Brand Bookshop's categories tell a story all of their own.

Of course, there are classics.

 
And some of you already knew that you'd find a whole shelf of books on E.S.P.

Some stores have a section on history, or maybe also the history of the American West, or California history, or even Northern California history. Brand Bookshop has all of those, and also a separate section for books about the Gold Rush.

 
In addition to General Military Aviation, there are more specific aviation and military sections. Want the "Jane's Weapons Systems" from 1978? Brand Bookshop has it.

But at Brand Bookshop, military aviation doesn't have to be realistic. It's got an entire section dedicated to "Star Trek."

Yes, there's a section for books about Sea Adventures. And Art History, Theory & Criticism. And Shrubbery. In all, Brand Bookshop has more than 1,500 different labeled sections on its shelves: while you're looking at Buddhism & Zen, you might be leaning against Papacy & Vatican. There's a looseleaf notebook behind the front desk labeled Master Section List. It begins with "Albee, Edward" and ends with "Zulu."

 

In addition to the retail space, Brand Bookshop has a nearby warehouse with an additional 30,000 books in various stages of being cataloged. They do some Internet business, with more than 5,000 books listed through online used bookselling sites Abebooks and Alibiris. Nakano says the most expensive book he's sold was an Internet sale; it was a first edition hardcover of Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God," which went to an East Coast dealer for $8,500.

Despite the enormous stock, the staff seems to know exactly where to look to help customers. Nakano took me from one section to another to see if they had a book I've been trying to find. They didn't, but hey, they've got a couple of copies of "Tom Jones," which I've never read. Brand Bookshop is less a place to find what you think you want then to stumble over something you'll be inspired to get.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

Photos: Brand Bookshop. Credit: Carolyn Kellogg

Comments

[Gerard Collins]

Love, love, love Brand Bookshop. Very good selection, very good prices, helpful staff, and it is amazingly well organized for a used book store. Many times I have stopped in -- just to browse -- and walked out with an armful of books. It's interesting that management notes how the store depends on foot traffic, because they do a really good job of setting up appealing displays in their windows that help to encourage passers by to stop in.

[JOSE]

This is the best place I know for used books, a readers paradise, and is true, if you're short of time, you ask for the book and you'll be directed to where you look almost to the point to say "this is what you're looking for" the attention is great !!

[John Fox]

Brand Bookstore has been my longtime favorite used bookstore. And you gotta love Jerome. The man's a crackup.

[Barney Saltzberg]

I had no idea this store existed! Thank you for sharing.

[hank]

Great pix! Clean, well-lighted aisles! Must send THE WICKED WIT OF THE WEST by Irving Brecher to their Cinema Bio section ASAP!

[alsmouse]

I've loved this book store for years & always visit when in town. Great selection of books & helpful staff. A day spent here & a stop at the neighborhood bakery makes the day special. Keep up the super work!!!
~C8>

[Val Adams]

Really glad to see this! we have been shopping there for over twenty years-richest assortment of research material-esp. Americana-not to mention hard science plus plenty of fiction at many levels. Also SUPER attitude -staff always there with answers-or leads to them- when you want help-and to heck out of your hair when you dont! Go, Brand!

[Val Adams]

ooops on last comment- we started shopping there around 1993, a bit short of the 20 years I mentioned

[johnLA]

Brand Books is definitely a "Haunted Bookshop."
One of the best out there with a proprieter to match, always wisecracking on something.

[Manuel]

Best bookstore around! It retains that charm of the way an older bookstore would feel. It doesn't feel "uber-sleek" and santized like a chain store. You feel like you are in your own house, or your own garage!
I have many books from Brands Bookstore and I like how they keep in touch with their customer mailing list with special deals (unlike other stores).
I've found some real gems in there.

[pmayer]

Don't forget that Jerome will buy your books back from you. Get the store credit and he'll really give you a deal. Love ya Jerome!

[Lisa From LA]

My husband and I used to come here for Saturday night date night. We'd spend part of the evening roaming the aisles, eventually finding and buying nearly every "Nero Wolfe" mystery published by Rex Stout (a few we had to get elsewhere), armloads of P.G. Wodehouse and loads of Sci Fi. After our son was born, we learned about the Dr. Seuss section, the Beverly Cleary section, etc. Now all three of us shop there - our son is a major reader, too. What a surprise, huh? Fabulous bookstore - it still makes a great date night!

[EAGD]

One of my favorite stops in Glendale - Brand Library and Art Center being the other! Thanks for the article!

[Jane Humphrey]

This is a wonderful and important series you're featuring. The information is good and I'm very impressed by the photographic coverage. The independents can use all the help they can get and your promotion is perfect in this day and age of struggling retail.

[craig hodgkins]

I spent many happy lunch hours--usually 2-3 a week--browsing Brand Books when I worked at a corporate office a couple of blocks south a decade ago. I still try to get up there every couple of months or so, despite living beyond the Orange Curtain. Jerome is a delight (I've probably heard or overheard most of his book related patter), and the store is all about serendipitous discovery, with several shelving categories not found elsewhere. Thanks for featuring it in "Jacket Copy"!