From a devoted reader and lifelong bookseller, an eloquent and charming reflection on the singular importance of bookstores.

“…I found that Deutsch is charming and thoughtful on the page — one of those original, busy minds that makes for a fun and captivating read — and it’s in his wandering, open-hearted tone (not in his arguments) that he summons (rather than explains) the concept of a cultural good.”

— Lily Houston Smith, Los Angeles Review of Books

“Deutsch is as learned as any of those authors, and his obvious passion for books is contagious.”

— Byron Borge, Christianity Today

“Deutsch’s book is an earnest, even idealistic consideration of what we gain from a good bookstore, and what we risk losing if we don’t overcome the failure of imagination—and of economics—that has allowed so many bookstores to close.”

— Max Norman, The New Yorker

“An eloquent and inspiring paean to the community bookstore. . . . A deeply read and engaging guide. . . . Give this a prime spot on that Front Table.”

— Bill Kelly, Booklist, starred review

“By Deutsch’s accounting, sidelines comprise about a fifth of a bookstore’s income. Bookstores are more than mere sites of commerce, of course: They’re places of community, and, as the author memorably closes his argument, the books they sell are ‘exceptional tools to cultivate our own interior landscape, which, after all, is our portable and permanent homeland.’ A pleasant bibliophilic excursion, as books about books usually are.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“Deutsch ties his love of bookstores, reading, and knowledge to Jewish traditions of education and reflection, which also resonates with the rich literary tradition that Jewish writers developed in Chicago during the early and mid-20th century. If you’re still reading this blurb, by far the nerdiest one I’ve ever written, then we should both read this book.”

— Lit Hub

“Plenty of time is dedicated to Deutsch’s touching reflections on the Co-op, too: it “seemed as close to a spiritual home as one could hope to find.” A resonant elegy to a changing business, this will hit the spot for literature lovers.”

— Publishers Weekly

“That requires more than praise for good bookstores. Without pushing the rain forest analogy too hard, I think of Deutsch as a kind of environmentalist, defining and defending the ecosystem required to sustain the well-being of people for whom reading is a vital necessity—a way of being in the world.”

— Inside Higher Ed

“Maintaining an open society requires educated citizens, book culture, and bookstores, one of the few truly democratic institutions, open to all. Infused with a deep love of his profession, bookselling, Jeff Deutsch’s reflection on reading, learning, and well-run bookstores is breathtaking. Read and share this compelling and engaging book.”

— Haki R. Madhubuti, founder of Third World Press and author of Taught by Women: Poems as Resistance Language

“Jeff Deutsch is one of the most learned and passionate booksellers in America, and this profound and poetic book yields as many untold wonders as his impeccably curated store.”

— Ada Calhoun, New York Times–bestselling author of St. Marks Is Dead

“Deutsch’s long experience as a bookseller and a reader—that is to say, as someone on both sides of the counter—has allowed him to produce an entertaining, richly intelligent book on an institution that is essential to a literate society.”

— Alberto Manguel, author of A History of Reading and The Library at Night

“A promiscuously erudite love letter to bookstores, books, readers, writers, and the unique community that they constitute, Deutsch’s hypnotic book is generously laced with memorable and often hilarious quotations, and offers the exquisite pleasures of browsing through the book-lined mind of an omnivorously literate reader and bookseller.”

— Wendy Doniger, author of The Hindus

“A compendium of delights for the thoughtful reader. Deutsch, a gifted writer and riveting storyteller, has written a concisely elegant topography of the good bookstore that also illuminates the seemingly opaque craft of bookselling. This book is bound to be the fulcrum of discussions—among readers, booksellers, editors, and publishers—about the meaning and role of bookstores.”

— Paul Yamazaki, City Lights Bookstore

“In this charming work, a revered bookseller puts into words the strong but often inarticulate feeling that many booklovers have about the importance of bookstores. Deutsch makes an eloquent case for the way bookstores educate readers as no classroom or library can. His wide-ranging reflections teach us to value the bookstore as a site not of goods but of experiences.”

— Leah Price, author of What We Talk about When We Talk about Books

“Utterly fascinating.”

— Dave Eggers

“In a culture that fosters rampant aliteracy and homes devoid of any books, Deutsch is extolling not just good bookstores but also the vanishing world of thoughtful lives. His effort deserves praise.”

— Steven G. Kellman

“Deutsch has a knack for aphorisms, as in, "The chef's wisdom: time itself is an ingredient," and "There is something to glean of the totality of human experience in a space comprising its varieties.”

— Star Tribune

“In Praise of Good Bookstores is a delightful read that articulated many of the feelings I have when I make time to discover and browse in bookstores – an experience I highly value.”

— Nicole Barbaro, Ph.D., Bookmarked Reads

“…you don’t have to read far to know you’ve entered a wondrous realm on the far side of “business and career,” a bookstore utopia where the dead speak to the living in a society Deutsch has woven together with thoughts on books and life and the life in books, from Petrach to Pound, Epicurus to Emerson, Calvino to Conrad, and on beyond the beyond.”

— Stuart Mitchner, Town Topics

“…Deutsch’s book is worthwhile for its argument that good bookstores can have a role beyond the mission of a typical business. They’re places where people from all walks of life can find the kind of common ground so woefully lacking these days.”

— Danny Heitman, The Advocate