BUSINESS of the MONTH
Bluestocking
Books
About BLUESTOCKING BOOKS
One of the best bookstores in San Diego, Bluestocking Books is cozy and feels exactly how you’d imagine a local bookshop to feel. Wooden floors, the smell of well-worn pages, tall shelves and tables stacked high, and a friendly, welcoming staff.
Here you’ll find a great collection of used books including trade-ins from the local community, and plenty of new and contemporary literature. We have purchased everything here from children’s books for nephews, 1980’s sci-fi (the Hyperion series blew us away), and modern ecology or environmental books like Finding the Mother Tree. If you stumble upon a book called the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, it’s best to leave it on the shelves…
The staff deserves a special shout-out, being very helpful and willing to find any book for you. They also make an effort to recognize your name and get to know their customers and the books you like to read. This level of personal service makes shopping here that much more meaningful, and the staff here recognizes that.
So the next time you need to buy a book, consider shopping at Bluestocking Books before you order online. Here, you can experience the joy of discovering books and being part of a community.
Great For
- Finding a new book
- Connecting with community
- Supporting a local business
Q&A With Bluestocking Books
Back then, there was a front table that always had really great, interesting nonfiction, recent arrivals, and I never got any further in the store than about 20 feet in. And then finally I was like the people who come in and say, oh my gosh, what a big store, it goes so far back. So, I got the job and was able to explore and get to know the store. And get to know all the customers and the people in the neighborhood.
- What is your name, and what do you do here at Bluestocking Books?
- My name is Mary Lyons. I have worked here as a bookseller for almost 20 years, so long I can't remember.
- What is your background, what inspired you to get involved with the bookstore?
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I worked at new bookstores in Chicago before I moved out here in 1995. When I got to San Diego, I was told I would never get a bookstore job in this neighborhood because it was too hard, too competitive. At that time there were a lot of bookstores, but a lot of people wanted the position. So, I was actually able to get a job at a place that was across the street that doesn't exist now. And I was in my 20s and it's so fun to work at a bookshop when you're in your 20s. When Kris opened Bluestocking Books in 1999, I worked across the street for several years. I shopped here even when I didn't work here. Book lovers usually love all the bookshops. Kris opened this shop 26 years ago. Wow. When the place I was working across the street closed, I asked if Kris had a position available. I continued to come in here and browse and be a customer and within a couple months there was a job available.
Back then, there was a front table that always had really great, interesting nonfiction, recent arrivals, and I never got any further in the store than about 20 feet in. And then finally I was like the people who come in and say, oh my gosh, what a big store, it goes so far back. So, I got the job and was able to explore and get to know the store. And get to know all the customers and the people in the neighborhood. - And you answered my other question, so Kris opened this store in 1999?
- Yes, Kris Nelson is the third bookshop owner in this space. First, there was Otento Books. The owner, Robert Gelink opened in this space in about 1967. Then Joseph Tabler Books was here in the late 80's and 90's. And then he sold to Kris. And she had her work cut out for her those first years because she was the main employee. She was really the one who was doing everything. And so she worked her butt off and made it what it is today, over time. So it started out a really great store, but I think she's made it an exceptional store.
- What is the story behind the name Bluestocking Books?
- Oh, yeah. It's kind of a reclamation of a word that was a slur. It was an insult back in the day. And I mean, this is like hundreds of years ago. In about 1750, some upper class folks were trying to include everybody in conversations. They wanted to talk about culture and politics and not just sit around gossiping and drinking tea. So they invited everybody, all kinds of classes and situations. At that time there were snobs who insulted them by saying they were bluestockings because at that time you would wear beautiful silk stockings if you were the upper class. And I guess it was almost like calling someone a country bumpkin because they wore blue coarse wool socks. More recently, in the last century, a "bluestocking" was an unmarried woman, maybe considered overeducated, she'd be a librarian, she'd be a spinster, she'd never get a man. And those were called bluestockings and they were looked down upon. So this is a way of saying, no, it's actually really fun and interesting to be a bluestocking. But I think it is kind of strange origin story. Every time I tell the story, I'm like, am I getting this right? I'm left with more questions, and maybe that's not such a bad thing.
- Has the bookstore changed and evolved over the years?
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We're like a crowd-sourced store because people trade in books. So based on what people trade in, we get the flavor of the neighborhood
of what people like, what people want to read right now. Folks trading bring in really great books and then that brings the customers for those books. And then people ask for specific books by name. We supplement our used books with new books, which are in demand. And that's a lot of books that are a reflection of our culture and what's important to us. So for sure, when the Black Lives matter movement was really big, we
were bringing in a lot of books that address those issues and we still try to bring in those books whenever possible.When people are asking for books by men, we also try to include books by women. So right now we have a really great philosophy section because a couple people in the community have brought in boxes and boxes of their old philosophy that they're done with. Everybody's asking for Marcus Aurelius these days. Everybody's really into Stoicism. When I think of stoicism, I think of dudes. It's all, it's kind of like a dude philosophy. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's just me personally. So we also try to bring in books by women philosophers. So Simone de Beauvoir is included in our philosophy. We're not afraid to say we're learning from our customers what they're interested in... we can't know everything.
There's new authors that I hear about all the time and I'm excited to hear about them and have people share what they're reading and what they want to read next. And then that way we try to bring it in for them. And it's all like I said, it's a reflection of what people are thinking about, what's important to them. Give the people what they want.
- What are some of the challenges you face as an independent bookstore?
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That's a good question. Personally, I feel like there's not enough time. We have to get so many books in the system and so the books come
in, we assess them, clean them, decide how we're going to price them. Then we have to do the data entry to put them online. We have this great website that we upload and update our listings daily, but it's such work. It's hard to keep up and we want to get more books into the system so that they can sell both here and online. So from my perspective, that's the challenge. But it's really nice because people will look stuff up from home and then contact us. They'll come in for it. We like it actually if they get in touch, so that we can try to find it. Because it's very frustrating if we can't find the book. But usually we can. - Do you host any events or activities in the store?
- No, we don't. We did just finish our book crawl. So for anybody that's interested, it happens at the end of April to coincide with Independent Bookstore Day and it's a 14 store, three-day event. You visit as many stores as you can. That's our main event. We've discovered that we want to just stick with the books and let the books be the thing.
- What is your favorite part of working here?
- I love interacting with people. So it's - I always say that books are my favorite co-workers, but for me, it's really about the customers. I just, I love them. I love them so much. We get to be very friendly with people. It's like, you may not know a lot about them, but once you know what a person likes to read you do feel like you know them. It tells a lot.
- What is a book that you wish more people would read, or that you're always recommending?
- It's such a tough question. You know what? I should know the answer to this question after all this time. I love The Princess Bride. It's sweet. It's funny. It's by William Goldman. The Princess Bride is - it's just super charming. I tend to recommend the books that are funny and lighthearted. I know that Kris always recommends Man's Search For Meaning, which is this powerful memoir of a Holocaust survivor who really was able to just find the beauty in life. But I like the fluffy stuff. But everybody's different. So when people ask me, what do you like to read? I have to immediately ask them, well, what do you like to read? Because then I feel like I make a better recommendation if I know where they're coming from. Because for some people, The Princess Bride would just be silly and they're not interested. And I think it's fine to read whatever you want to read. I don't think that anybody should tell you what to read. And also, when people are embarrassed, if they're reading maybe a graphic novel or a kid's book, I'm like, no - someone wrote it to be read. You can read a comic book or, you know, Mad Magazine, may it rest in peace. It's gone now.
- I'm still a fan of Calvin and Hobbes, there's some deep philosophy in there for kids.
- Yeah, that should be in the philosophy section. It's always on staff picks, and sometimes we carry it new because I think that there's a lot of reluctant readers, some kids that really fall in love with reading by enjoying Calvin and Hobbes. But I also personally read and recommend Dogman by Dav Pilkey. It's a kid's book. It's a graphic novel and it's very good for reluctant readers. He's also the guy that did Captain Underpants. I was reading Captain Underpants a few years ago, and I'm like, this is great. And then I discovered Dogman and I was like, this is even better. So, yes, that's what my answer is, I'm going to recommend Dogman. There we go. I love it.
- What is your favorite thing to do in San Diego?
- Probably go look for books. I go to the other stores, too. There's a recently opened bookshop downtown that I want to go visit called Hey Books, I haven't been there yet. I just went to Cabrillo, to the lighthouse. That's one of the things I love to do as a tourist in my own town. I recently did a harbor cruise, and I want to do a harbor BRUNCH cruise. It's more like I want to tell you what I want to do. I want to do an Old Town trolley tour, I haven't done that. Oh, and I love Balboa Park, I love the Mingei Museum.
- Is there anything you'd like San Diego to know about Bluestocking Books?
- As someone who sells books and lives by selling books, I always want to encourage people to try us first. Even if they end up getting it somewhere else. I mean, there are alternatives to Amazon. You don't have to immediately buy something from Amazon. Check locally, you know, take a walk and explore your neighborhood and find that book that you were going to order and have an actual human experience in the world. And then, I guess the other thing would just be, it's just a fun place to be. You know? We want people to buy books here, but if they just want to come in and browse and see if anything captures their imagination. You know, come and see us.
The Location
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