Kepler's Closes

Reading Mark's entry, I was shocked to learn the sad news that Kepler's in Menlo Park closed last week. Although I only visited a handful of times, I had taken a liking to the bookstore. It seemed to be in the perfect location, next to the popular Cafe Barrone and at the end of busy Santa Cruz Avenue. It's hard to believe a place that always seemed to be bustling with book lovers would fall on hard times and shut its doors.

I was there merely a week ago, on the last Sunday of August. I went in on a mission to buy a copy of Jane Austen's Emma. The place was alive with people perusing the shelves and standing in line to pay. There was no sign of an impending closure. As I left, I was already looking forward to returning, but I guess that won't be a possibility.

So long, Kepler's.

Maybe one way I could help other independent bookstores is to provide book links using Booksense instead of Amazon. So, if you want to buy Emma online from somewhere local (if you live in the SF Bay Area), then you might try Hicklebee's instead.