BOOKSTORES: This morning, I wondered why there’s no great science-fiction/fantasy bookstores in New York City, and whether there had been any in the past. One literary agent was kind enough to mention two stores that existed here as recently as the ’90s: the Science Fiction Shop on Sullivan Street, which was eventually acquired by Village Comics, and then another place that sold both SF and mystery books.
Not enough information about Manhattan bookstores for you? Secret New York author Michelle Haimoff gave the Huffington Post a list of seven indie bookshops scattered across the island.
CATS: John Scalzi and his family have been adopted by a new cat, a stray kitten they found in their garage last night that Scalzi has named (for the time being) Temp Cat. “Should the owner location project fail,” he reports, “and post shots and snippery, he will be put on staff at the Scalzi Compound and given a name. Personally I think his name is Robert Paulson, but that’s probably too obscure to amuse anyone but me.”
BOOKSTORE CATS: “I love cats, too, but I know someone who is so allergic to cats that more than a few minutes exposure will give her a severe reaction,” emailed Sheila Ruth of Imaginator Press. “It’s a shame that she is excluded from so many great bookstores by the presence of a bookstore cat. While not many people have cat allergies that severe, there are a much greater number of people with less severe cat allergies who may find it uncomfortable enough that they’ll just choose not to shop in that store. Booksellers looking to attract customers may not want to exclude the 5 to 10 percent of the population who have cat allergies.” Hmmm. I’d never considered that angle before; what do you think?