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Times Have Changed, But Timeless Hasn’t… At Least Not Much

January 12th, 2010

In the nineteen nineties a group of friends and I established “Timeless Books and Music” as our second residence. We passed hours on the store’s floor and in its couches sifting through everything from classics to nineteen forties and fifties science fiction. The owner at the time became familiar with our tastes and would set aside books he knew would be of interest to us. As a result, my library contains some obscure but semi-valuable editions I would otherwise never have found. In those days the primary but not exclusive, literature to be found in the store was fiction from the first few decades of the turn of the century. There was a smattering of religion and history, and as I said classics, but the old dime back fiction was the order of the day. We’d find old Lewis and Lovecraft, Fritz Lieber and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

There was music for sale in those days as well. In fact if I were to walk through the music section today, I would probably find items we dropped off in trade for some form of reading material.

Today, Timeless has a new owner, but the same location on Broadway next to Hastings. And while the genre of books has changed, the store still keeps a steady flow of customers. The literature offered has broadened in terms of appeal. There are all kinds of mostly newer fiction. Timeless carries many of the same titles one might find in a bigger chain, but at used bookstore prices. The music section has grown considerably since I last visited too. If you’re looking for old vinyl or cassette tapes, Timeless is probably your best bet in Tyler.

Truth be told, things have changed a lot since I used to visit all those years ago. I no longer spend my entire afternoon haunting the shelves of the bookstore, nor do I tend to skip meals in order to buy books, (although that wouldn’t kill me either), but if you’re looking for some good beach reading this summer, you can still find it at Timeless Books and Music. Located at 4129 S Broadway in Tyler Texas.

Tyler’s Book Barn

September 15th, 2009

Well, I mistakenly believed that I had written about all the bookstores in Tyler; that is until I was told about the Book Barn. So out of a desire to do justice to all the small local booksellers I paid the passed over store a visit.

The Book Barn advertises as a used bookstore with new bookstore atmosphere. While I would love to say that the establishment lives up to its mantra, it just doesn’t. I walked through the store and found that nearly the entire inventory was composed of paperbacks which could be found in an airport newsstand. They carried the usual thrillers and tech novels, and of course the ever present romance novels, but the history section was pathetically thin. If cookbooks and self help books are what you’re after, than sure, this may be the place, for you, but you may need to look elsewhere for classic literature, especially if you want a hardcover.

If you’ve read my review of Pea Picker Books, (which can be found under the Tyler blog section of this site), you’d know I’m not a huge fan of that particular store, but at least their huge volume makes it worth checking out. You may even discover some hard to find selections there. Unfortunately, Book Barn’s selection is very small. There are an awful lot of gaps on the shelves, and what they carry is mostly mainstream and easily found elsewhere. The store has yet to find its own niche in Tyler’s already crowded market.

The fact is, there is more to owning a used bookstore than just loving books and having a big library. Book Barn needs to offer something readers can’t find at other area establishments besides promising a lower price. There are plenty of other options offering the same advantage with a better selection. And the atmosphere is not a big enough draw to pick up the slack.

On a scale of one to five I’m forced to give the Book Barn a two. I’d love rate the store higher out of a desire to help a local bookseller, but I just wasn’t that impressed with the selection. For those who are still interested they are located on South Broadway in the French Quarter around the corner from China King. Perhaps other readers will have better luck finding what they are looking for than I did.