Well, this is a bummer. Last year when Erik and I spent a weekend exploring Portland's non-Powell's bookstores, Hollywood's Second Glance Books was one of the pleasant surprises: We'd both driven past it a hundred times without going in, but once we finally did we found a charming, book-lovers bookstore with a friendly proprietor and adorable staff dog:

Second Glance Books
An unassuming storefront on busy NE Sandy makes Second Glance Books easy to drive right past—but once you're inside, you'll find a deep, broad selection of contemporary and classic fiction... and a disconcertingly large romance section. (So. Many. Pink. Covers.) Bonus points for their store dog! She's incredibly sweet! Her name is Maggie!
4500 NE Sandy, 249-0344, Mon-Sat 10 am-6 pm, Sun 11 am-5 pm, secondglancebooks.com

In a letter to her customers posted on Facebook last night, owner Rachelle Markley writes:

"Since I took over ownership of Second Glance Books in March of 2005, it has been a great joy to be a part of this community and to make books available in a small, independent shop in this ever changing world of technology. So, it is with great sadness that I tell you, Second Glance Books will close its doors at the end of July.

As many of you know, I have worked hard to provide a personal book buying experience, centered in a small neighborhood retail shop. I am committed to customer service, and love the face to face contact with customers that happens in an open shop. But, the reality is, the store is no longer able to pay for itself. Bookselling and book buying have changed dramatically in the last few years, and will continue to change for a while yet. I plan to continue to be a part of the world of books for a long time to come, but how I do it will be different."

She goes on to explain that while Second Glance's storefront will close, the business will remain based out of the Hollywood, selling online books and "selling in other nontraditional venues." Read the whole letter here.

So that's two down, since we put together our bookstore list last August—Murder By the Book closed its brick and mortar in April. I hate this.