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Ask HN: Are there any bookshops dedicated to computing / programming? Anywhere?
I love buying technical books and I was wondering if anyone knows of a physical bookshop that specializes in computing? Or does anyone know of a bookshop with a really intelligent / interesting selection and which avoids the usual learn X in Y minutes. I'm interested in a bookshop anywhere at all, since my interest is also in getting a sense of whether one could make a business out of it.
I am aware of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Literacy_Bookshops, but can't find evidence of anything more recent.
I know many programmers would consider buying a physical copy redundant. I know many of the good ones are available as free PDFs or in other formats. I know my love of the book itself is not necessarily widely shared. Nonetheless the idea keeps coming back to me (I'd be happy to be cured of it).
Interested in all views. I am involved in the publishing industry in another life. So I understand the basic dynamics of bookselling...but I've no idea how most programmers feel about browsing and buying physical books about computing.
- jacalata 11y agoPowell's in Portland temporarily had a separate Technical Annex, but it only lasted a short time (a year?) before being absorbed back into the main building.
- msie 11y agoShame, I didn't know that it's now gone. I went there once and it was heaven! In Vancouver we had a shop devoted solely to computer books, it was called "Unihall". That's where I met my first O'Reilly book (X11 manual). It's now gone. There was another chain called "Half-Price Computer Books". It was awesome too. Also gone. :-( Also Duthies Technical too. And Siliconnections. Wow, we had a whole bunch of these in Vancouver...
- GFK_of_xmaspast 11y agoThey apparently closed only last year, but I remember going there in the late 90s or so.
- tmaly 11y agoI was going to mention Powell's Technical books but I was last there in 2000. Its a shame it is not there anymore
- mindcrime 11y agoThey still have a nice selection of technical books in the main store though. I'm here in Portland visiting now, and Powell's was pretty much my first stop. :-) They have a larger section of technical books than probably any other book store I've been in. And I'm talking just "computer stuff", that's not even counting the math/science stuff, electrical engineering / electronics, etc. If anyone is ever in Portland, you'll definitely want to make a trip to Powell's if you like (dead tree) books.
- RNeff 11y agoI used to buy books at Computer Literacy ages ago, I probably still have one of their T-shirts in a box. Borders Books had a good selection of serious computer books in the stores in Silicon Valley. I would buy books there when I had a coupon. The Stanford Bookstore on campus has a great selection, including all of Don Knuth's books. Amazon's discounting is obviously a problem. O'Reilly books has a daily email with one (or sometimes all) of their books in ebook format for half off. There is large online marketplaces of used books, including used textbooks, which further undercuts new book sales.
- GFK_of_xmaspast 11y agoThere's Reiter's in DC but I haven't been there in a decade, so I don't know how much technical stuff they have anymore: http://www.reiters.com http://www.reiters.com as well as Digital Guru in Sunnyvale: https://www.digitalguru.com https://www.digitalguru.com
- scandox 11y agoDigital Guru looks like the kind of thing I was looking for. It's kind of funny how old school their site looks given their location and target audience but I might give them a call and just ask them "how's business"...
- DrScump 11y agoDigital Guru is, in fact, very close to the original Computer Literacy site... which is just around the corner from the original Fry's Electronics location (on Oakmead).
- jonjacky 11y agoAda's Technical Books in Seattle - mostly computing, although they also have books about other technical subjects.
- scandox 11y agoThanks that looks really interesting
- wmoser 11y agoWhile it's somewhat small, I always try to stop by the MIT Press store in Cambridge MA if I'm headed through the area.