Politics and Prose: The Quintessential Washington, DC Bookstore
We've seen a huge chain of big box book stores close its doors over the past few months, and at the same time, Politics and Prose, a small, neighborhood bookstore on Connecticut Avenue thrives. And it's made it while the giants have struggled for a bunch of reasons.
First, they've made it interesting. And second, they really understand their customers and what their reading tastes are.
They have a large selection of books.- There are lots of comfortable places where you can sit and try one on before you buy it.
- Everyone in Washington is a member of some book group, and Politics and Prose caters to them, with special orders and special pricing. They even let groups use some of the space on their lower level for meetings.
- They have frequent lectures and book signings by authors they know their clientele will enjoy meeting.
- They have "Staff Picks" that are actually very helpful when you're browsing for you're not sure just what.
- They have a music section with an excellent selection of classical and not quite hard rock music.
- They have a coffee shop with free Wi-Fi on the lower level.
- They have a wonderful children's section, and it's where I go to buy all of my baby presents.
We went there yesterday to buy an Atlas and to a travel book that would be good for an upcoming road trip. And their selection rivaled that of Barnes & Noble, the competition that was supposed to snuff out the small neighborhood book sellers. They had guides to every continent and countries I'd never even heard of.
There is also a good foreign language section if you want to lose your mono-lingual status and maybe learn French driving from one appointment to the next.
So whether you are looking for a New York Times Best Seller or the latest book written by a journalist neighbor, you'll be able to find it here - why they even carried The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate when is was first released!
If you are buying any sort of gift, you can find fabulous cards for any occasion, and they do gift wrapping for free.
And did I mention the free parking in the rear of the store (although it does fill up when they have special events).
I love this store!
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