Went on a trip to LA this past weekend, for my Mom's b-day. I'd found out about a used bookstore that specializes in cookbooks only. In Pasadena, right on the way to Burbank- so it was an easy sell to the husband.
He made the call as we exited the freeway, and drove up to the shop. It would be: Hot, dirty and run by an aging Hippie. Ta-DAAA!! He was right on all 3 counts. I had an idea of 2 books I'd wanted, but was hoping to find some hidden gem or 2 that just -needed- to come home to Vegas with me.

I stepped inside, the hubby went next door to use the restroom. It was HOT outside, about 90 degrees at 2pm. Inside the store it was a stuffy 5 degrees cooler, if that much. The owner didn't feel she needed to use any box fans at the very least- which might have helped only slightly.
The stench of multiple cats and their said litterboxes hit me instantly. Looking at the floor, it was covered in about 1 inch of cat hair. (where there wasen't books, and there were tons of them)
I love cats. Allways have. Husband is deathly allergic to them. He really DISlikes cats. Used bookshops seem to attract cats, or at least people who run them love to keep them in their shop. (why is that?) Here in Vegas, one place used to have cats, and we never went back. Here is my helpful suggestion to ANY business owner who wants to keep their pets with them at work:

HAVE THE BUSINESS NOT SMELL LIKE CAT-PISS, SO MUCH YOUR CUSTOMERS CAN STAY ONLY 5 MINUTES BEFORE GAGGING ON THE AMMONIA CLOUD THAT IS YOUR UNCLEAN BUSINESS!!

I asked her what types of Scandinavian cookbooks she had, and I hurridly made a selection from her 5 books she had. Asked if she had the Time-Life Foods of the World books, and the sister additional spiral-bound cookbooks. Was looking for a replacement for my one on Japan that got lost in a move, and figured i'd buy a few of the spiral-bounds I needed. She had at least 6 full sets of the entire series all about, so I was happy to get these.

We got the idea this woman -lives- at her business, or at least very very close to it. She was nice enough, but the dirtiness and putrid smell of her place had ME running out in record time. This would have been a place I could have easily spent $150, if allowed to browse and find neat books I never knew I needed, in comfort. Air-conditioning would have been fantastic. Books that have been AT LEAST dusted would have been very nice. The smell of musty old books (which, I actually like..My very first job was at a used bookshop! It makes me happy, of getting lost in a place to find reading treasures) and that alone would have been PERFECT. What I got was I think the second layer of Dante's Inferno. I'm never going to set foot in that shop, ever again. I'll order from her online, and that's that.

Better yet, i'll keep ordering from alibris.com where i've spent many a pretty penny, and have had a great experience. I don't care if they nail me on shipping charges, it's worth it.

I'm laughing about it now, but while there, it was just miserable.