Try Fireside Books
As someone who loves books I’m somewhat ashamed to admit that I never realized just how many bookstores we have in Tyler. One of the better ones is found at 110 East Houston, and has been at that location for nearly ten years. Fireside Books is not for the casual reader who knows exactly what he or she wants.
This is not a chain, where the reader can walk to a carefully arranged aisle and select the latest novel by the trendiest, hottest new writer. This is a bookstore for the reader for whom the six dollar paperback is not sufficient and time is not an issue. With its dusty shelves, and stacks of books scattered literally all over the store, it almost seems not to belong in Tyler at all. And the lack of conventional organization only adds to the charm.
Many of the books found here are of the old and rare variety. The store stocks a great many first editions and signed copies. Local authors and bestsellers are on hand. There are large paperbacks and leather bond biographies. Fireside does not stock an inordinate number of common paperbacks. Not to say they have none; just that they do not make up a very large portion of the store’s inventory, which is rare in the used book biz.
The history section is probably the crowning jewel of the place. There are both familiar and unfamiliar volumes, on a wide range of historical topics. The Texas history section in particular is excellent and features biographies of many famous Texans. All the editions they sell are clean copies; which brings me to another plus. Fireside doesn’t waste the customer’s time pushing damaged or otherwise low quality literature as a means of rounding out their inventory. Every shelf seems to have something worth reading, (unless of course you’ve no interest whatever in the subject matter).
A warning though, for the impatient shopper, on the hunt for a particular title this bookseller may be a bit frustrating. The local chain is probably a better choice for that person. Fireside is for the reader who sees the journey as its own reward. If you enjoy pulling up a spot on the floor and perusing a stack of yet to be stocked books, this is probably for you. But be careful you may end up losing track of time or going over your spending limit.