The Mystery Bookstore will close
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The Mystery Bookstore will close at the end of the month, owners Kirk Pasich and Pamela Woods announced Tuesday in an e-mail to friends.
‘We’ve enjoyed your books and getting to know you, and the kindness and generosity of spirit you’ve shown us -- as well as your visits and signings,’ the two wrote. ‘Unfortunately, we, too, are going the way of too many independent bookstores. We simply cannot compete with the Amazons of the world and the impact of the economy.’
The Mystery Bookstore has consistently brought bestselling authors into the store for readings and signings. Writers scheduled to appear later this month include Robert Crais and T. Jefferson Parker. What’s more, it’s also made an effort to utilize social media, with more than 1,100 fans on Facebook, where it actively promotes its events. None of that was enough to make its brick-and-mortar store a solid, ongoing concern (there is a possibility its online presence may continue).
The Mystery Bookstore is on Broxton in the heart of Westwood, where UCLA is located. After the recent closing of the nearby Border’s, the Mystery Bookstore was the last surviving bookstore in the neighbohood, apart from the university’s own.
That will end on Jan. 31, the Mystery Bookstore’s last day. It will hold a farewell party that day, starting at 6 p.m.
-- Carolyn Kellogg
Linda Brown from the Mystery Bookstore at the 2010 L.A. Times Festival of Books. Credit: The Mystery Bookstore.
