Will The Used Bookstore Save Us?

A new used bookstore is coming to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Or, a new type of used bookstore. Bill Moore, owner of the soon to be open Black Dog Used Books and Records, sat down with me to discuss his approach and ethos to opening a bookstore for the people.

Moore describes himself as “commie pinko scum.” A hammer and sickle tattoo is appropriately inked into the left side of his skull. He is here to corrupt the youth, incite the masses, and sell you used copies of Haruki Murakami. The most revolutionary thing he wants is to get books in the hands of readers.

“Books are meant to be handled, used, and read. Not to be displayed behind the counter or under glass.”

Moore came to Grand Rapids by way of Chicago several years ago in search of a slower, quieter life. Though something inside him felt unrealized. It was always a goal of his to open a bookstore. It seemed like a natural next step for him. He had been a book scout since he was a teenager, scouring people’s book collections to sell prized finds to bookstores like the popular Myopic Books in Wicker Park, Chicago. This pursuit honed his eye for select titles that were hot and in demand.

So when he came to Grand Rapids he quickly became aware of a dearth of used book stores he was used to, the cool hip ones where unaffected workers are “encouraged to be assholes.” The ones in Grand Rapids were either full of “dad history”, dark and cluttered, or the owners were assholes in the affected, holier-than-thou manner, hesitant to part ways from their precious first editions. Moore calls these stores “the classical used book stores.”

“We are not going to deal in the dusty, passe classical used bookstore model. We like to keep current and in-like with the needs and wants of the community we service.”

Black Dog Used Books and Records will be leasing a building in what realtors would call a “transitional neighborhood.” At a quick glance, it is scrappy enough. An aging mechanic shop and some all-around disrepair give the block a working class filter, but look closely and you’ll see shops with groovy fonts selling hand woven sacks to hang your ferns in. Perhaps it already transitioned. Moore is happy with the location. Grab a cortado, hit the food co-op, then to Black Dog for a Mike Davis book.

With space found, Moore is running ragged buying up books to stock the shelves for an April 20 opening. He did not divulge his tactics on his buying model. Trade secrets, he said with a wink. Process aside, Moore is, “Trying to buy the books you don’t want to sell.” Black Dog books will be curated according to his own sense of the “market” and the tastes of the youth, as they are the ones most likely to buy books these days, at least at used books stores.

Observe the store’s Instagram account and you can get a taste of the variety, along with tutorials on book repair. There will be no Stephen Ambrose or Thomas Friedman as they” feed the liberal propaganda machine.” And do not dare ask for Danielle Steele. Books at Black Dog are the books you read conspicuously at coffee shops or on the subway. The books you hope will get you laid.

Moore reckons that 70% of his inventory will be fiction, with a focus on genre fiction, horror and sci-fi. The rest of the titles will be non-fiction like history, marked either “radical” or “liberal” history. There will be a few shelves of new books from new left radical authors that have major publishers, such as Verso and Haymarket, but not major space at stores like Barnes and Noble. Prices will also be lower than B&N, averaging from 4-6 dollars for novels.

Apart from some records and other physical media, Moore is insistent that Black Dog will not use the typical bookstore business model. He laments, “You walk into a bookstore now and half of the shit is tchotchkes and socks! I am not trying to open a Spencer’s Gifts. There will be no canvas totes at the register.” I tried to tell him my Agatha Christie chapstick is quite effective in the winter, but he could not be persuaded.

Moore wants Black Dog to be a community space as much as it will be a bookstore. Moore’s vision is to offer weary residents a space to lounge, read, and relax. “You need some water, use the restroom, get a tampon, we will be here for that. Those are human rights.” Moore plans to use the 1500 square feet space in the back to host poetry readings, workshops, food drives, or even “rent” it out, for free of course.

“Upping the real world presence” is a phrase that came up often with Moore. Increasingly, communities are hard up to find viable “third spaces,” areas apart from work or home that allow people to engage with each other in the flesh. The internet has largely taken that spot. Moore admits that the internet has made everything more accessible but at a certain point, it gets in the way of itself. “There is a community right here and we can build that with and for each other.”

Moore’s politics are present in everything he does and he plans to extend that to the store. The bookstore models a degrowth philosophy. Moore believes there is enough circulating right now that we do not need more copies of books. He will even sell you a book then buy it back when you are done.

When asked about the potential backlash of a leftist bookstore in a historically conservative area, Moore is not too worried. “I think the community is going to surprise us. Most of us have been taught to think about politics in a very superficial manner. You’re either blue or red and that is as deep as it gets. I do not believe that and everyone is welcome here and I guarantee you we will find some common ground and a good book.”