04/16/08

Original art, Excellent selection of First Edition books, Unique interesting bookstore

by lbh0618

When you first walk in, you'll notice the original art that decorates the entire store. They had an exhibit up when I was there that incorporated sheet metal into scenes of people in various colorful village settings--really neat. They were playing some kind of retro 70's funk music, which was alright. I bet they switch that up though, depending on who's working and what time of day it is, etc.

The books were really great. There were first edition books by Bukowski, Whitman, Emerson, Henry Miller, Thom Jones, all kinds of interesting literary figures that you'd recognize. They also had a whole section of books that were in what I would catagorize as "books of the sexual revolution". I randomly picked up one by this author advocating a "forward thinking" law circa 1969 that would make polygamy legal in California! They have a clean bathroom (a nice suprise for that area) and a kitchen area, so it would be a cool place to host a party (and they rent the space out for just that occasion).

Overall, I would def. recommend a visit to the Equator Bookstore. Only thing that would have been nice is a bottle of water or coffee or something. .

• Pros: Interesting book selection, Great art, Cool vibe
• Cons: Art was very expensive, Shopgirl had a little bit of an attitude

Distinctive modern art meets progressive literary culture at Venice hybrid gallery-bookstore.

by Contributor

Amid stone floors and unfinished ceilings, 3,500 square feet of space is adorned with varnished wooden shelves of specially selected books and monthly updated exhibitions of contemporary artwork. With a bent toward the controversial and dissident, Equator offers inventive works from its parent publishing house, as well as time-tested classics aimed at the Venice artistic community. Exhibitions feature both the work of local unknowns and prominent artists specializing in fresh forms of expression.