Bad Bookstore Behaviour
Diary of an SLA: 5 November 2025
Today I visited one of the most famous independent bookshops in the world. Situated in Downtown Los Angeles (Los A), The Last Bookstore is billed as a treasure trove for the discerning literary aficionado.
On arriving ten minutes before the shop opened, I was pleasantly surprised to find an orderly queue had already formed. For an SLA, there can be no sight more heartening than that of people hungrily awaiting the joys of literature.
It is often argued that in today’s world of Instagram Shorts and YourTube Reels, books are fading into obscurity. Indeed, I frequently lament the illiteracy of contemporary society. But here I found people of all ages ready to leave modernity at the door and wander into a world of words. It made me glad. It gave me hope.
Shortly after 11am, we began to shuffle inside. On reaching the front of the queue, I gave the young bookseller at the door a knowing literary nod (plus a short bow), then entered the shop.
What happened next was truly shocking.
The interi…