I know that e-books are the future, but I will continue to wander bookstores until they disappear.  Walking through a bookstore is a sensuous experience.  The sights, smells, and feel of countless books of different shapes and sizes, and different ages, simply cannot be replicated by sitting hunched over a sterile screen and tapping at keys.

My favorite bookstore is Silver Spring Books, a glorious mess of a used book store located in the funky neighborhood of Silver Spring, MD, just north of D.C.   Thousands of books are crammed into floor to ceiling bookcases, arranged more or less by genre, and more or less (often less) in alphabetical order.  There are also piles of books scattered around, waiting to be shelved before they tip over.  It’s the kind of store where you can find the latest hardcover selling for half price, or an ancient pulp paperback selling for 10 times its original price (of 35 cents!)  This is where I find my beloved trashy horror novels, and where I stumbled across a copy of Moby-Dick and realized I’d never read what is now my favorite book.

 I owe my knowledge of this store to Silver Spring native and renowned crime fiction author George Pelecanos.  In Hell to Pay, Pelecanos’ recurring tough guy Terry Quinn worked at the store.  If you’re a Pelecanos fan, then head out to Silver Spring and see how many landmarks you recognize from his books.  Your first stop should be Silver Spring Books, located at 938 Bonifant St, Silver Spring, MD.  Find yourself a good read, then go across the street to Kefa Café, a coffee shop that also appears in Pelecanos’ novels.   And if you see a dopey-looking guy reaching for a tattered old H.P. Lovecraft paperback, chances are it will be me.