A Walk Through Station North Books

It may look closed, but if the open flag is out, the store is open.

In 1988 Mayor Kurt Schmoke declared Baltimore “The City That Reads.”   There is probably no way of knowing how close or how far away Baltimore is from living up to that declaration.  But one place does seem to suggest that Baltimore is somewhere in the middle.

It’s more organized than you think.

Station North Books (SNB) at 34 E. Lanvale Street (just across from the Penn Station parking lot) provides a place for readers to find that hard-to-find book.  There are other bookstores in Baltimore with old, eclectic selections, like Royal Books on W. 25th Street; Charlotte Elliot and The Bookstore Next Door on W. 36th Street; and Normal’s Book and Records on E. 31st Street.  But no other antiquarian bookseller has the same vibe as SNB — a dash of old English with some Elvis Costello mixed in.  Can’t see where I’m going with the description?  Visit and you’ll see.  While it might appear to be chaos, it’s not really.  This is a place to browse.  But if you’re looking for something specific, you don’t need to hunt.  The owner, Ned Sparrow, knows where everything is.  He can point to the philosophy section on one row and architecture on another.

Ned is a former English literature professor at MICA.  He opened the bookstore 7 years ago and has maintained a steady flow of MICA and JHU students.  While I was there, book collectors looking for a rare find as well as curious pedestrians stopped by.  SNB is open 7 days a week from 10 am until 3 pm but stays open much longer on many days.  Just pull on the door.

After hours, Ned leaves some of his inventory outside the shop, on the sidewalk, relying on the honor system for patrons to pay.  (Are you kidding me?) I guess when you think about it, people interested in books probably don’t steal.   I have had people walking down an alley at 6:30 am offering to sell me power tools or broken-down vacuum cleaners, but no one has ever offered to sell me a copy of Albert Camus’ The Stranger.

Ned sells everything — I guess.  I didn’t see any porn, but he may have Henry Miller’s Sexus, or at least knows where he can get a copy for you.

Ned also makes reading suggestions on his website Station North Books under Trust Dr. Ned’s Sequestration Success List.

Whether you read or not, this is an excellent place to visit before a matinee at The Charles Theater, which is just around the corner.