COVER STORY
Reading rooms AS BOOK READERS BECOME FEWER AS TIME WEARS ON, LOCAL BOOKSTORES DOUBLE DOWN ON INVENTORY AND PROVIDING EXPERIENCES TO THEIR CLIENTELE. Deer Clan Books 3905 N. College Ave. (Bethany) Boasting a huge collection of Oklahoma and Native writers of both fiction and non-fiction, owner Claudette Robertson is a Muscogee citizen of the eponymous Deer Clan. A former high school social studies teacher and college history professor, her advanced degrees have informed the selection at this unassuming bookstore along College Avenue just south of the Southern Methodist University campus. In addition to hosting book signings on the second and fourth Fridays of each month at 6 p.m., Deer Clan hosts a children’s program on the first and third Saturdays of each month at 1 p.m. Oklahoma authors Kent McInnis and Joan Jenkinson will be on hand for Deer Clan’s second anniversary on Aug. 26 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Robertson is a descendent of Col. William Robison and has named the event space inside the store (which is available for rental) after her ancestor. If you’re looking for books on all things Oklahoma, drop in and choose titles from more than 50 Oklahoma authors and counting. Deer Clan Books. Photo by Berlin Green.
Literati Press Bookshop 3010 Paseo What began as Literati Press Comics and Novels more than a decade ago expanded into a bookstore in 2016 as one facet of the Paseo Plunge, a multi-use building that also contains an art gallery as well as Holey Rollers, a donut and coffee shop (among other menu items). The bookstore is a labor of love, beginning as a pair of bookshelves and expanding into more and more space in the building as interest and stock increases. In addition to the ever-expanding list of in-house titles, the selections are all curated by the staff, which is headed by local writer Charles Martin, but includes selected picks from each staff member. Literati Press also carries its own line of comics of which multiple titles are ongoing (stay tuned for more info on these in an upcoming issue of Oklahoma Gazette). The labyrinthine building is also home to several artist studios and there’s a weekly meetup for artists to work alongside each other, making this bookstore a thriving hive of creative collaboration. Visit literatipressok.com Literati Press Bookstore. Photo by Berlin Green.
Best of Books 1313 E. Danforth Road (Edmond) An Edmond mainstay for nearly four decades, Best of Books is as much a children’s bookstore as it is for adults, with more than half of the store’s space devoted to catering to young readers and an 11 a.m. storytime each Saturday. For the grown-ups, there are regular free readings and book signings attended by local writers in addition to added perks like registering your book club with the store to get 15 percent off the title and the free “book club card,” which gets you a discounted or free book after you purchase a dozen others (the credit amount is determined on the average price of the 12 items previously purchased). Additionally, Best of Books also hosts larger events off-site, including an upcoming ticketed talk and signing with Veronica Roth, author of the Divergent series, to be held at the nearby University of Central Oklahoma. Visit bestofbooksok.com Best of Books. Photo by Berlin Green.
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