Literary Travel – Las Vegas Edition

Hi Everyone!

About six months ago, my husband and I traveled to Las Vegas, so he could attend the Consumers Electronics Show. Like the previous trip, neither of us had been there before. While he was writing articles about the latest technologies, I decided to do the most sinful thing I could do while in Sin City: go to four book-related places. Today, I’ll show them all to you. All of the photos used were ones that I took.

First up is Diamond Sutra Books.

Located in the Art District north of the Strip, Diamond Sutra Books specializes in vintage, rare, and out of print books and ephemera. The earliest ones date back to the 1700s.

I found it in a building that held a gallery and several other businesses. It occupies a single space, but the owner knew how to use it well.

They also have first editions of classic novels like Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.

In addition, they sell vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, 1980s and 1990s nostalgia-related items, and other objects.

One of the most unique things I found there was a basket full of walking canes carved from trees. These could’ve fit right in the Lord of the Rings universe. I also saw an artillery shell with Albert Einstein’s face on it with the description “Forces Always Attract,” which was pretty cool.

Another thing I noticed while at Diamond Sutra Books was a display of sex-positive books. It was placed near the entrance, so people would notice it going in and especially as they were leaving. Knowing how Las Vegas is known for its sensual atmosphere, this became a theme in the bookstores I visited.

I was the only person in the store at the time, which allowed me to chat with the owner Aaron. He’s a nice guy who love books. He even told me why he decided to open a bookstore since he spent years selling rare prints online and wanted to have a physical place for them. He even showed me the display sign that turns on. Bottom is the picture I took of the both of us.

In case anyone is wondering, I got the graphic novel Giraffes on Horseback Salads: Salvador Dali, the Marx Brothers, and the Strangest Movie Never Made by Josh Frank and Tim Heidecker. It’s another book for my Marx Brothers shelf!

Overall, Diamond Sutra Books was impressive in the items it held. It contained a variety of objects that appealed to a wide range of people. The space might be small, but it was spacious. You can check them out on Facebook, Instagram, and eBay. It’s definitely not your average bookstore.

The second bookstore is Avantpop Books and Art Gallery.

According to its website, Avantpop Books is “a specialty, subversive, subculture, independent bookstore and publisher based in Las Vegas, Nevada.”

When I went there the day after my trip to Diamond Sutra Books, I was not disappointed. Although it was confined to one space, it was full of books, new and used, and pieces of art curated for the most unique of individuals. Specifically, it had a diverse collection of titles to help readers to have a better understanding of various ideas and concepts.

They are absolutely committed to the diversity, equity, and inclusion because they had this sign at the front of the store. Browsing through the store made me realize that they put their money were their mouth was. This was especially true with this sign.

I also love how it knows that people might come in with drinks like bottled waters. It was really dry when I was out there, even in January.

It contained books who subjects ranged from the Illuminati to John Waters. If that’s not subversive nor diverse enough, I don’t know what is.

Furthermore, they had paperbacks in plastic bags. I had to take this picture because of the Doctor Who ones on the left.

The artwork was pretty cool. Think of the weirdest stuff you’ve seen in a gallery and make them 10 times stranger. I like the monkey with the fez the most. Fezes are cool.

In addition, they had plenty of merchandise. They included magnets, newspapers made to look like ones from the olden days, and art prints. And, they even had their own published books on the shelves. I bought one called Oh, The A**holes You’ll Meet by Shwa Laytart – one of the owners of Avantpop Books – as well as The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan and a sticker.

My favorite part of the store was a mirror that displayed the following text.

I’m glad that I got to meet one of the owners Sugar. Her mother was there too. Both were very cool. While talking to Sugar, it became clear of how passionate she was about books, art, and diversity. They have author events and a podcast called Avantpop Books Presents, where they interview said authors as well as artists and businesspeople in the area. You can see the latest videos here and on YouTube.

All in all, Avantpop Books lived up to its name. It fully commits to selling a wide range of books and art pieces and to highlighting creators living in the Las Vegas area. Along with their website, you can check them out on Facebook and Instagram. It brings out the reading freak in anyone who comes in.

Next up is The Writer’s Block also located in the Art District.

According to its website, The Writer’s Block is “a bookshop, coffee shop, young writers’ workshop, & artificial bird sanctuary in downtown Las Vegas.”

Yes, you heard right. It actually contains an artificial bird sanctuary. We’ll get to more of that in a bit.

When I walked into the bookstore, the first thing I saw was the coffee shop. Specifically, I encountered a giant bird cage that held artificial birds, magazines, and other items for sale.

There was a little entrance to the bookshop itself off to the side. What I saw was amazing. It had books galore in every possible genre, and they were organized in well put together displays. Also, it contained stationary, puzzles, and toys for sale. For the latter, many of which like kites and puppets hung from the ceiling. I’ll admit that some of the puppets were a bit creepy, but they were still cool to look at.

I also enjoyed seeing rulers that showed off the famous people in specific categories.

What makes this a truly unique bookshop is the artificial bird sanctuary. I had never seen a bookstore with a reserve like that before. On top of that, each bird had a name and an autobirdography. My favorite is Lillian the Blue Jay. I wish I would have bought her, yet I have cats, and they might try to eat her.

Another cool aspect about the sanctuary was where the birds were placed. There were some types that were all over the store like blue jays and cardinals. And, there were others that could be found in one spot. For example, the penguins were in the Photography & Fashion/Art Folios section, chickens were in Cooking, doves were in Romance, and ravens were in Horror. In addition, I thought it was cute that the flamingos were in the Graphic Novel part of the store.

The other cool thing about the bookstore was the amount of cardboard cutouts of famous historical figures. They included people like Frederick Douglas, Amelia Earhart, and Rasputin. It adds to the charm.

One last thing that made the store special was that it had a rabbit mascot named “The Baron.” He was chilling in his cage when I saw him back in January. What other bookstore has a mascot like that?

While I was there, I bought Sun, Sin & Suburbia: The History of Modern Las Vegas by Geoff Schumacher as well as a smoothie. I hope to read the book before or during my next trip to The City That Never Sleeps.

The Writer’s Block easily proved to be one of the unique bookshops I’ve ever went into. The artificial bird sanctuary goes without saying, but the diversity of books and how they were organized were impeccable. Along with their website, you can check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you only have time to check out one bookstore in Las Vegas, go to this one.

On my last day, I was able to squeeze in some time to visit the Meadows Library.

Located in the Stupak Community Center near the Strip, the Meadows Library is a part of The Library District in Las Vegas. The district itself consists of 27 libraries. Meadows Library was the closest one to my hotel.

The library was no bigger than a living and dining room combined. Nonetheless, it still offered plenty of items to check out and services for its patrons.

This included books, DVDs, S.T.E.A.M. kits, and braille books. They also had citizenship toolkits available. This makes sense since Las Vegas has a huge Spanish-speaking population, and I’d imagine that many of them are trying to obtain their citizenships. It’s a wonderful way to address community needs.

As for the services, the library has computers, a 3D printer, and a Jackery Explorer 1000 Portable Power Station. The last item permits patrons to charge many devices at one time. This is quite nice for anyone who needs to plug in their devices.

Another cool thing that the library was doing was growing herbs and spices. They had them in Idoo Hydroponics Growing System pods. Apparently, a group of children had planted them prior, so the library was keeping an eye on them as the plants grew. This is another great way to address community needs by teaching children how to plant stuff.

Although the Meadows Library may have been the smallest place I went to while I was in The Meadows (that’s the literal translation of the city’s name), it still had a lot of things patrons could do. It was also creative in how they offered various services. You can check them out on their website.

And that concludes the fifth installment of “Literary Travel!” I hope all of you had a great time on this trip. I traveled to Wisconsin again, this time to Elkhart Lake, as well as to Gaylord, Michigan this past May, so stay tuned for that!

Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates. Also feel free to email me here for any review suggestions, ideas, or new titles!