In praise of Glendale's closing Brand Bookshop

David Allen photo

David Allen, the columnist for the Inland Valley Bulletin, is a fan of the Brand Bookshop in Glendale and isn't happy at all to hear that it's closing. He paid what may be a final visit and posted a tribute. Excerpt:

Brand Bookshop is one of my favorites, both for what it is and where it is. It’s a great used bookstore, open since 1985, with personality and a deep selection of 100,000 books. And it’s located on Brand Boulevard in Glendale, the downtown drag, with shops and restaurants all around and, across the street, the grand 1925 Art Deco Alex Theatre and a second used bookstore, Book Fellows. Best block in SoCal? Well, it’s not, but it’s in the running.

Brand, alas, is closing next month. Owner Jerome Joseph, who’s in his 80s, suffered a fall last year and can no longer run the business, according to a sad story in the Glendale News-Press, and his son, Noriaki Nakano, who’s 66, is ready to retire.

The store, at 231 N. Brand, never really made the transition to the Internet age, and up until a year or two ago still contacted customers (like me) by postcard to announce sales. I only visited once a year or so, but I usually bought something and sometimes sold something.

Allen has his own book coming this week. Pomona A to Z is 244-page paperback taken from columns Allen wrote in 2004-05.