Fantasy short / Magic bookshop you can't find twice
ConversesName that Book
Afegeix-te a LibraryThing per participar.
1MyriadBooks
Anyone recall a short story about a magic bookstore that had whatever you wanted in stock? But the kicker was that once you made a purchase you could never find that shop again.
As I remember, the narrating character was a college-age girl seeking a job at the store. Once she was hired, she wasn't able to leave -- she slept in the apartment upstairs. She developed a romance with a regular visitor, but one day he told her about how much he missed having his childhood copy of Our Friends at Maple Hill Farm, and she went and fetched the book for him, knowing she'd never see him again.
There's a better than average chance I would have read this in a Year's Best anthology with a fantasy lean. I probably read this in sometime after 2005, but the publication date could have been much earlier.
Ring any bells? Thank you all!
(Original message: Jul 24, 2014, 4:19pm)
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I also remember my story also having the protagonist dealing with her loneliness by drinking -- first glasses cheap whiskey, then to oblivion by the bottle, eventually sophisticated drams of the good stuff. There might have been elements of noting the books she was reading during this time, too?
Suggestions eliminated thus far...
Anthologies:
Welcome to Bordertown
Shelf Life
Firebirds
Firebirds Rising
Firebirds Soaring
In the Stacks
Starlight 1
Starlight 2
Starlight 3
A volume of the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies is still a possibility, but I've yet to find a match in the limited volumes I currently have access to.
Reference sites:
TV Tropes, the little shop that wasn't there yesterday
TV Tropes, magical library
Short stories:
"Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan
"Books" by Peni R. Griffin (Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, November 1991)
"Shoppe Keeper" by Harlan Ellison (Shatterday)
"Impossible Dreams" by Tim Pratt
As I remember, the narrating character was a college-age girl seeking a job at the store. Once she was hired, she wasn't able to leave -- she slept in the apartment upstairs. She developed a romance with a regular visitor, but one day he told her about how much he missed having his childhood copy of Our Friends at Maple Hill Farm, and she went and fetched the book for him, knowing she'd never see him again.
There's a better than average chance I would have read this in a Year's Best anthology with a fantasy lean. I probably read this in sometime after 2005, but the publication date could have been much earlier.
Ring any bells? Thank you all!
(Original message: Jul 24, 2014, 4:19pm)
----------
I also remember my story also having the protagonist dealing with her loneliness by drinking -- first glasses cheap whiskey, then to oblivion by the bottle, eventually sophisticated drams of the good stuff. There might have been elements of noting the books she was reading during this time, too?
Suggestions eliminated thus far...
Anthologies:
Welcome to Bordertown
Shelf Life
Firebirds
Firebirds Rising
Firebirds Soaring
In the Stacks
Starlight 1
Starlight 2
Starlight 3
A volume of the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies is still a possibility, but I've yet to find a match in the limited volumes I currently have access to.
Reference sites:
TV Tropes, the little shop that wasn't there yesterday
TV Tropes, magical library
Short stories:
"Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan
"Books" by Peni R. Griffin (Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, November 1991)
"Shoppe Keeper" by Harlan Ellison (Shatterday)
"Impossible Dreams" by Tim Pratt
2fyrefly98
This feels like it might be a Bordertown story? I've only read the most recent anthology (Welcome to Bordertown), but it did have a story set in a bookstore (although the details don't match the one you describe)… so some of the earlier Bordertown anthologies might as well? (And it might well have been reprinted in YBF&H.)
3lorax
The Vanishing Magical Shop is an old trope, of course, but telling it from the POV of an employee is an interesting twist. No idea, but I'd be interested in this one as well.
4MyriadBooks
Hmm. I'm not very well-read in Bordertown and I don't have any memory of this being an interconnected story, but it's certainly possible.
I'm starting to work my way through tables of contents for YBF&H volumes -- I've read about two-thirds of them, I think -- but no titles are standing out to me yet.
http://www.gamalei.net/sluice/
My own Google searches keep suggesting Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, but I've read that one too and it has a very different plot.
I'm starting to work my way through tables of contents for YBF&H volumes -- I've read about two-thirds of them, I think -- but no titles are standing out to me yet.
http://www.gamalei.net/sluice/
My own Google searches keep suggesting Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, but I've read that one too and it has a very different plot.
5merrystar
There is a dedicated anthology of fantasy/horror stories about bookstores:
Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores
I never got hold of a copy myself, but I found a listing of the stories at http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/808333921
Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores
I never got hold of a copy myself, but I found a listing of the stories at http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/808333921
6.Monkey.
>5 merrystar: Hah, that is awesome, I want!
7guido47
Thanks >5 merrystar: It looked so good I just ordered it :-)
8MyriadBooks
>5 merrystar: Yay, my library has a copy of that one!
10MyriadBooks
Shelf Life was an excellent read, but didn't contain the story I was looking for. Back to the drawing board!
11MyriadBooks
Aquest missatge ha estat suprimit pel seu autor.
12lorax
Prompted by the bump, I thought "Wait, if this is an old trope, why not go look at TV Tropes (not linking because I value all of your time; despite the name, it covers other media as well)? They're calling the trope "The little shop that wasn't there yesterday"; however, this story doesn't appear to be mentioned. No cases of a bookstore, and only one told from the POV of an employee ("Wong's Lost and Found Emporium", by William Wu. Unless they changed the plot dramatically for the New Twilight Zone episode they based on it, that's certainly not it. (I couldn't find a plot synopsis of the story, just the episode.)
13MyriadBooks
I can't tell you how much I appreciate you not linking to Tropes, because I would have clicked on it and I would have lost a hour. (So, yes, I'll be check it myself after work. Maybe there's a broader trope just for bookstores that might give me a hint.)
14housewife49
#5 Merrystar. It is indeed an awesome anthology. I have a copy after seeing it and reading about it on the internet.
Deserves a place on anyone's bookshelf. And to MyriadBooks there is a story contained within aforementioned anthology entitled Ballard's Books by Gerard Houarner.
After his secretive Father and Uncle (both avid booklovers and readers) have died. A man finds a small card among his father's belongings
'Ballard's Books' All The Books One Can Ever Need. 11am till 11pm Daily
This is an excerpt;
'That's when I found the cabin. A single oil lantern hung by the door, announcing it's roadside presence. The light illuminated a neat, hand-carved sign below the lantern: Ballard's Books. I stepped up to the porch, reminded of the old-time juke joints my father told me about, when Mom wasn't around, where he and uncle terry went with gandy dancers after working the rails before and after the war. The porch roof had holes in it, and wood creaked under my weight as if ready to break. I jumped at the sudden sound, reminded I was alive, and probably not alone. The cabin looked as if it had left been standing since the 20's or 30's, untouched except for time and weather. Mold and wood rot was in the air'.
I really hope this is the story that you're looking for. if not it's well worth a read anyway. The whole anthology is brilliant
Deserves a place on anyone's bookshelf. And to MyriadBooks there is a story contained within aforementioned anthology entitled Ballard's Books by Gerard Houarner.
After his secretive Father and Uncle (both avid booklovers and readers) have died. A man finds a small card among his father's belongings
'Ballard's Books' All The Books One Can Ever Need. 11am till 11pm Daily
This is an excerpt;
'That's when I found the cabin. A single oil lantern hung by the door, announcing it's roadside presence. The light illuminated a neat, hand-carved sign below the lantern: Ballard's Books. I stepped up to the porch, reminded of the old-time juke joints my father told me about, when Mom wasn't around, where he and uncle terry went with gandy dancers after working the rails before and after the war. The porch roof had holes in it, and wood creaked under my weight as if ready to break. I jumped at the sudden sound, reminded I was alive, and probably not alone. The cabin looked as if it had left been standing since the 20's or 30's, untouched except for time and weather. Mold and wood rot was in the air'.
I really hope this is the story that you're looking for. if not it's well worth a read anyway. The whole anthology is brilliant
15MyriadBooks
>14 housewife49:, sadly, I'm still looking. I found a library copy of Shelf Life (circa comment >10 MyriadBooks:) and nothing in it was familiar. (The anthology itself was awesome, I quite agree.)
16housewife49
Yes ...sorry Myriad books, only just spotted that one. That'll teach me to read all comments and not scan. I got carried away in the book search excitement, but i'll keep a look out for the one you're looking for ...no wonder I never get any chores done :p
17MyriadBooks
bump.
Just checked through the contents listing of the anthologies Firebirds, Firebirds Rising, and Firebirds Soaring but none of the titles seemed likely.
Just checked through the contents listing of the anthologies Firebirds, Firebirds Rising, and Firebirds Soaring but none of the titles seemed likely.
18MyriadBooks
bump!
Just finished reading In the Stacks, which was a long-shot to begin with seeing as it's focused on libraries, not bookstores; but still, no luck.
Just finished reading In the Stacks, which was a long-shot to begin with seeing as it's focused on libraries, not bookstores; but still, no luck.
19MyriadBooks
bump.
A suggestion on another site brought up "Books", by Peni R. Griffin, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (November 1991), but the summary doesn't match.
"In downtown San Antonio there is an interdimensional bookstore, Brock's, where the protagonist's female friend gets him books to read while he is in the hospital—books written by Harriet Vane, Ariadne Oliver, and S. Morgenstern."
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2193319-fantasy-short-magic-bookshop-you-ca...
A suggestion on another site brought up "Books", by Peni R. Griffin, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine (November 1991), but the summary doesn't match.
"In downtown San Antonio there is an interdimensional bookstore, Brock's, where the protagonist's female friend gets him books to read while he is in the hospital—books written by Harriet Vane, Ariadne Oliver, and S. Morgenstern."
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2193319-fantasy-short-magic-bookshop-you-ca...
202wonderY
I didn't read all the stories, so I can't say. But you might try Shelf Life: Fantastic Stories Celebrating Bookstores.
21MyriadBooks
Yup, suggested circa comment #5; sadly, eliminated circa comment #10.
222wonderY
>21 MyriadBooks: Ah! This thread may have been how I heard about the book in the first place.
23MyriadBooks
I've updated my initial post to show the suggestions thus far; that may help a bit.
24Johnny-Outcast
I don't know this story myself, but something about the idea strikes me as either Neil Gaiman or Kelly Link; if I ever find the story in question, I'll post about it. It actually sounds incredibly interesting. :)
25MyriadBooks
Thanks very much for the suggestions. I have do have several collections by both authors, so I'll give them a look and see what we find.
26Johnny-Outcast
A friend of mine has recommended John Connolly: apprently he has a series similar to what you mention.
http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/museum-literary-souls.php
I haven't read it myself, so I'm not sure, sorry...
http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/museum-literary-souls.php
I haven't read it myself, so I'm not sure, sorry...
27MyriadBooks
Ooh, a whole series? Definitely something for me to look into. The story you link to seems to have a male protagonist, but maybe something else in the series has a female one?
28Johnny-Outcast
Unfortunately not, and looking at it now, the timeline doesn't quite match what you are looking for, sorry. :(
Might be a good read though; I'll keep searching.
Might be a good read though; I'll keep searching.
29Johnny-Outcast
Myriad, is there any chance it was from the Starlight Anthology series? I was looking for SF&F anthologies for myself, and this one popped out.
Showed up around mid 90s to the early 00s, might have your story squirrelled away inside of one.
I haven't read them yet, but based on some of the reviews, I'm interested to try my luck at reading them if I can find one.
Showed up around mid 90s to the early 00s, might have your story squirrelled away inside of one.
I haven't read them yet, but based on some of the reviews, I'm interested to try my luck at reading them if I can find one.
30MyriadBooks
The name of that anthology series does not ring a bell, but I'll definitely track them down to read. A couple of the stories that printed in the second and third volumes are familiar to me, but I remember reading them in different mediums.
"The Death of the Duke" (Starlight 2), for example, I didn't read until it reprinted online:
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2012/20120730/duke-f.shtml
Thanks much for the suggestion!
"The Death of the Duke" (Starlight 2), for example, I didn't read until it reprinted online:
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2012/20120730/duke-f.shtml
Thanks much for the suggestion!
31Johnny-Outcast
Any luck finding anything Myriad?
32MyriadBooks
Interlibrary loan requests for the Starlight anthologies are still working their way through my local system (no copies available in my state, woe).
I appreciate the reminder! I'll follow up with the library and see if something's stalled.
I appreciate the reminder! I'll follow up with the library and see if something's stalled.
33Johnny-Outcast
All good, hope you find this story. I'm actually quite curious to read it myself. :)
34MyriadBooks
Starlight 1 has finally been read through, and I can confirm that no stories in it are a match.
The other two volumes ought to be coming in soon.
The other two volumes ought to be coming in soon.
35MyriadBooks
Starlight 3 has been read through; confirming no stories are a match although several were familiar -- "Gestella" (Palwick), "The Barbarian and the Queen: Thirteen Views" (Yolen), and "Tom Brightwind, or, How the Fairy Bridge Was Built at Thoresby" (Clarke) were all reprinted in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror: Fifteenth Annual Collection (2002). I just skimmed through the contents list for that anthology and nothing rang a bell for my missing title, but it'll be far from unpleasant work to find and reread it to know for sure (I do love me my Datlow/Windling publications).
36MyriadBooks
Aaand, sadly no match in Starlight 2. The closest chance was the lead story "Divided by Infinity" (link to digital reprint), which mildly featured an improbably bookstore but had no other plot similarities.
>33 Johnny-Outcast:, thank you so much for suggesting these anthologies to me. I greatly enjoyed reading through them and, even though I'm still looking for the story that kicked off my search, they've helped me find a lot of fantastic new reads.
>33 Johnny-Outcast:, thank you so much for suggesting these anthologies to me. I greatly enjoyed reading through them and, even though I'm still looking for the story that kicked off my search, they've helped me find a lot of fantastic new reads.
37Johnny-Outcast
Always glad to recommend more books. I still haven't found anything new that matches your search, but I'll keep my eyes open as I read. :)
38Johnny-Outcast
Myriad, haven't gotten any new clues on this story yet, but found a collection of short stories I think you might enjoy.
It's called 'Marvelry's Curiosity Shop' by John Brhel.
Hopefully it's something you'll enjoy. :)
It's called 'Marvelry's Curiosity Shop' by John Brhel.
Hopefully it's something you'll enjoy. :)
39sjw54
I'm really sorry I can't help but I would love to read this myself if anyone has managed to find it yet?
40MyriadBooks
>38 Johnny-Outcast: I love recommendations. Thank you!
>39 sjw54: I'm still actively looking to solve this, and I plan to methodically re-read the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Anthology series this summer. I'll update this thread as I do.
>39 sjw54: I'm still actively looking to solve this, and I plan to methodically re-read the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Anthology series this summer. I'll update this thread as I do.
41Johnny-Outcast
After almost a year, any luck figuring out this book yet Myriad?
42MyriadBooks
>41 Johnny-Outcast: Sadly, not yet. My methodical rereading of anthologies has not been as active as I had intended -- that you for the reminder to start that back up.
43humouress
>1 MyriadBooks: I wonder if Our Friends at Maple Hill Farm is significant in a way that might lead you to your book?
44MyriadBooks
>41 Johnny-Outcast: I've tried googling with and without that quoted title (and variations as in "Our Animal Friends" and just "Maple Hill Farm"). It was considered a classic picture book but of a somewhat lower-tier -- published mid 70s, very popular in the 80s and 90s, and in my opinion has aged very well to this present day. The author/illustrators later produced a couple other works that had been awarded Caldecott medals, but this particular one had always been my favorite of theirs.
In the context of the short story I'm hunting for, I think it's a detail that stuck in my memory just for the fun ah-ha moment of seeing a story reference a work I was familiar with, but I don't recall any significance in-story beyond that it being a character's own beloved childhood book.
(And this does of course assume my memory is accurate with this particular detail. I feel pretty certain about it, but it's not like me being wrong is a concept out of the question.)
In the context of the short story I'm hunting for, I think it's a detail that stuck in my memory just for the fun ah-ha moment of seeing a story reference a work I was familiar with, but I don't recall any significance in-story beyond that it being a character's own beloved childhood book.
(And this does of course assume my memory is accurate with this particular detail. I feel pretty certain about it, but it's not like me being wrong is a concept out of the question.)
46MyriadBooks
Yay, a bump!
47humouress
This is possibly the same list as in >5 merrystar: but try this? https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7027.Books_About_Bookstores
48MyriadBooks
>47 humouress: Whew! 200+ titles featuring bookstores in some capacity. I'll start working my way through the list. Pity GR doesn't let you play with the sort settings of their lists -- it would be nice to see only the fantasy titles listed, or weed out all the romance books.
50MyriadBooks
Thanks for the bump.
51Johnny-Outcast
Bump again. Because this still has me wondering too. :)
52Cecrow
Spotted a GoodReads review about a magic shop that moves around, but it's a kids' or YA series. The Magic Shop series by Bruce Coville, starting with The Monster's Ring.
53MyriadBooks
>52 Cecrow: ooo, the series Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher was part of! IIRC, that series was firmly middle grade and unlikely to hold the whiskey element I'm remembering for my search.
Wiki tells me there are a couple short stories in this series. The titles aren't ringing any bells, but I'll see if I can track down the collections where they appear. I suspect they're longshots to solving my search, but best to confirm for sure.
Wiki tells me there are a couple short stories in this series. The titles aren't ringing any bells, but I'll see if I can track down the collections where they appear. I suspect they're longshots to solving my search, but best to confirm for sure.
54Johnny-Outcast
Bump: any update Myriad?
55BooksellerRuth
Reminds me of Audrey Niffenegger's The Night Bookmobile, though that's not quite it either.
56Zerkis
Bump: Please, let me know when you find it. I'm very curious about it. Are you sure that you read that story in a book and not in a literary magazine?
59Muchislover
S'ha suprimit aquest usuari en ser considerat brossa.
63TylerStevenson
S'ha suprimit aquest usuari en ser considerat brossa.
66brizzzy
I Met a Traveller in an Antique Land by Connie Willis?