---
title: Inside the Nooks of ‘The Bookshop’
date: 2024-08-06T11:56:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/inside-the-nooks-of-the-bookshop"
section: Articles
---
# Inside the Nooks of ‘The Bookshop’

*August 6, 2024* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/author/sala-levin-10)


> In New Book, Alum Traces the Long Story of Bookstores

*3 2 Vagabond 1920x1080 — In "The Bookshop," Evan Friss '02 (below) tracks the history of the American bookstore, from its roots in colonial Boston to today's brick and mortar Amazon locations. Frank Collins (seated near truck) drove his mobile Vagabond bookstore, made from an REO Speed Wagon, throughout California in the early 20th century.*

“Cozy bookstore” is a trope so well worn it might as well have its own Netflix genre. There’s the endlessly knowledgeable owner (either the kindly cardigan-wearing variety or the sharp-tongued, scowling type) minding the shop, a range of kooky regulars greeting staff by name, book browsers scurrying up spiral staircases to reach every cranny, and age-burnished armchairs beckoning readers to spend a while turning pages.


*Evan Friss headshot — Photo by Joanna Morrissey*


*“The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore” cover*




**Topics:** [People](https://today.umd.edu/tags/people)


**Tags:** [Alumni](https://today.umd.edu/topic/alumni), [Books](https://today.umd.edu/topic/books), [History](https://today.umd.edu/topic/history)


**Units:** [College of Arts and Humanities](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-arts-and-humanities)