Historic Houston Book Stores

[mkultra25]

20 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

No one has mentioned The Book Collector in Rice Village, which back in the 1990's filled the little house at the southeast corner of Morningside and University.

[...]

Becker's Books is another one where my one or two visits 15-20 years ago will have to do, I have no desire to ever go back. Decent selection though, and perhaps time has mellowed the owner? There is something about running a used book shop in Houston that brings out the "big fish in a small pond" syndrome to an unbearable degree.

I had forgotten about The Book Collector when this thread started. I visited it a few times but was not a regular customer, not least for many of the reasons you mentioned. 

As far as Becker's, I haven't been there in years, but I had a pretty negative experience with an online order I placed with them through ABE for a fairly hard-to-find book related to local history. Ordered the book, order was processed, no book after a month. Emailed them, and got an apology for the package never arriving and a promise to send out another copy via expedited shipping. Three weeks later, the purported replacement copy had not arrived. Emailed again, another apology and a promise to issue a refund as they could not locate another copy of the book. Several days later, still no refund, emailed again, got a perfunctory response that they would be in touch if they ever located another copy of the book. I don't recall whether I ever actually got the refund, but the entire experience was enough to sour me on ever doing business with them again. 

[dbigtex56]

On 9/23/2021 at 1:08 AM, mattyt36 said:

Lobo and Crossroads served such a purpose back in the day!

Also, if you want to go back a few years, The WIlde 'N' Stein bookstore at the Westheimer Mini-Mall (near the Happy Budda).
It was operated by a very petite man, whose name was Small. He always wore black clothing. Nice guy.
 

[bugtoaster]

On 9/15/2021 at 5:28 PM, Dave W said:

I remember M. Herrick Books in Westbury Square.

There was a seller of new books in Westbury Square around 1979-80. They had a selection of Usborne books and other imports that was more extensive than you would find in an ordinary store. Was this Herrick? By the mid-80s they were gone, but a seller of comics and collectible magazines had opened around the corner. It was staffed by an older gentleman, plus a younger man with a brit accent who moved very slowly and carefully, as if he were over-cautious about damaging collectible stuff.

The original Brown Book Store (located on Westheimer near the Hobbit Hole restaurant) and the Sam Houston bookstore in the Galleria both had elevated children's sections, so as a kid you would feel like you were climbing into a treehouse.

A quote from:

"Further west near Kirkwood, in the 1980s people began converting those mini-storage units facing Beechnut into storefronts. That seemed to last for a long time, but I don't remember seeing any storefronts on a recent drive-through."

I believe the writer of this post may be referring to a complex which was home to A Few Books & Records in the mid-80s. I had just seen The NeverEnding Story, and all the old books reminded me of the bookstore in the film. It then moved to a strip-style shopping center (possibly at 11332 Beechnut) that was also the location of a teen club.

There was a 7" record on display behind the counter, called "Alief, My Alief," or something like that. I never bought the record, and have never been able to find the recording online. Does anyone remember it?

The owner, a tall, thin, middle-aged man with glasses and a receding hairline, passed away about 1987 and the store was inherited by two of his elderly female relatives. They seemed at a loss over how to manage the store. They tried stocking it with a paltry selection of Warhammer figures to bring in a fresh crowd, but complained bitterly when it didn't work and moved the store to a stall in an antiques mall to save on rent.

Edited September 26, 2021 by bugtoaster

[Dave W]

On 9/26/2021 at 2:17 AM, bugtoaster said:

There was a seller of new books in Westbury Square around 1979-80. They had a selection of Usborne books and other imports that was more extensive than you would find in an ordinary store. Was this Herrick? By the mid-80s they were gone, but a seller of comics and collectible magazines had opened around the corner. It was staffed by an older gentleman, plus a younger man with a brit accent who moved very slowly and carefully, as if he were over-cautious about damaging collectible stuff.

 

On 9/26/2021 at 2:17 AM, bugtoaster said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

M. Herrick was the original bookstore in Westbury Square back in the early 60s. It was later called Westbury Square Books. But I was gone from Houston by 1979-80 so I don't know about the store you're referring to.

[LovettJungleBomber]

Re: Waldenbooks location Downtown, there was one on Travis between Dallas and Polk across from Foley's. It was the same block as the Foley's Garage and a James Coney Island. Seems like it was there from the late 70s' until sometime in the early 90's. Later it became a foreign currency exchange. There was also a Waldenbooks in The Park Shops up until the mid 90's if I recall correctly.