The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History

A book can open an entire world of experience or provide a recipe for meatloaf. Either is wonderful to Lewis Buzbee, who has spent much of his life in bookstores as a bookseller, a sales representative, and a customer. In The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, Buzbee celebrates the unique experience of the bookstore—the smell and touch of books, getting lost in the deep canyons of shelves, and the silent community of readers. He shares his passion for books, which began with ordering through The Weekly Reader in gradeschool. Interwoven throughout is a fascinating historical account of the bookseller trade—from the great Alexandria library with an estimated one million papyrus scrolls to Sylvia Beach's famous Paris bookstore, Shakespeare & Co., that led to the extraordinary effort to publish and sell James Joyce's Ulysses during the 1920s.

Rich with anecdotes, Buzbee offers a delightful look at bookstores past and present. For those who relish the enduring pleasures of spending an afternoon finding just the right book, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is the perfect choice.