Around Indies

Weller Book Works Celebrates Family Matriarch

Lila Weller, and her son, Tony, at the Collectors' Salon.

This month’s Rare Book Collectors’ Salon at Weller Book Works in Salt Lake City, Utah, feted Lila Weller on the occasion of her 98^th birthday. “She has witnessed the evolution of this old bookstore since the years right after World War II until the present, said Tony Weller, her son and co-owner of the store with his wife, Catherine. “No one in our family has a longer view of the bookstore.”

Lila Weller entertained guests with her recollections of working at the bookstore, which was founded more than 80 years ago as Zion Bookstore and at various times was known as Sam Weller’s Books and Sam Weller’s Zion Bookstore. Working alongside husband Sam Weller, Lila Weller played a prime role in the store’s growth from the 1950s to the 1980s. She continues to work in the Rare Book Room for a few hours a day, two to three days a week, collating rare books and manuscripts.

Catherine and Tony Weller are the third generation to own and operate the store, which they rechristened Weller Books Works and moved to Salt Lake’s Trolley Square in 2012.

Viewpoint Books Marks 40 Years

On October 5, Viewpoint Books in Columbus, Indiana, celebrated its 40th anniversary. The bookstore, founded in 1973 by Charles and Rae Edwards, is now operated by their daughter, Susan Whittaker, and her husband, Terry, who left their careers as social workers in 1979 to take over the store.

“It wasn’t what we originally thought we would be doing the rest of our lives,” Susan Whittaker told the Columbus Republic. “But it became very attractive to us, and we both love to read, so it worked out well.”

To celebrate its 40^th milestone, the store hosted a book signing by local author David Williams, and in the evening, closed down the adjacent street for a jazz concert by the Knox College Cherry Street Combo. At the celebration, the owners recognized their loyal customers and many of their employees, past and present.

Ada’s Technical Books New Home Dazzles

The new home of Ada’s Technical Books, a few blocks up from its current location, “could very well be the new most beautiful bookstore in Seattle,” The Stranger reported. The store, which is three and a half years old, is moving to a house that owners David and Danielle Hulton have been renovating since last May.

“Walking down what Hulton calls the store’s ‘spine,’ you’re dazzled by glass and repurposed wood — about 90 percent of the wood fixtures have been repurposed from the old space, including old doors that partially separate the airy cafe on the left from the tall stacks of books on the right. To riff on a famous Hemingway invention, the new bookstore is a clean, well-lighted place for books and the people who love them,” The Stranger said. “With its comfy seating and welcoming fireplace, Ada’s is the kind of space where you just want to spend time.”

Store sections include technical electronic manuals, computer guides, kids’ books, science fiction, biographies of scientists, and a small selection of cookbooks and guides to the sciences of coffee and tea that abut a cafe space. Puzzles, games, and science kits are also part of the stock, as are used books and e-books.

A grand opening party is set for Saturday, November 2.