Last day of Chicago Uptown's iconic Shake, Rattle & Read bookstore
The Shake, Rattle & Read books and records store has been an iconic fixture of Chicago's Uptown neighborhood for almost exactly 50 years. Plenty of famous musicians who passed through Chicago recall the store fondly, and owner Rick Addy had plenty of stories to tell - and memorabilia to show.
But I admit that I can count the number of times I've visited the store with the fingers of single hand. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I discovered Gallery Bookstore years before I first stumbled upon Shake, Rattle and Read, and the Lakeview used bookstore always scratched my "cluttered bookstore with an eccentric owner and all sorts of interesting obscurities" itch. So when the word got out last November that Shake, Rattle & Read was closing, I didn't feel all that upset. But it was still an iconic store, a one of a kind business, and it was hard not to feel sad in the more abstract way. And it was really hard not to feel sorry for all the people to whom the store means more than it ever did to me.
From what I gathered, the owner of the building where the store is located didn't want to renew the lease. Addy thought about it and decided that, well, he wasn't getting any younger, and it was as good of a reason as any to retire. Originally, he hoped to sell the inventory, let someone else open their own bookstore, but that didn't pan out. So instead, over the past few months, Addy started selling the store inventory at the increasingly large discounts. Originally, he hoped to be done by March, but, by mid-April, he still had stuff to sell.
A few weeks earlier, I stopped by to see if I could buy something. I wound up getting a book that dealt with the now-forgotten chapter of Chicago ward politics. There was also an old issue of Playboy or two I had my eyes on, but didn't buy.
Then, last Sunday, I found out that the store closed a day earlier. I was a bit sad that I didn't know about it, but I figured that, hey - I had an opportunity to buy something and I took it. I could have bought more, but, hey - at least I won't have the regret of never stopping by at all.
But on Tuesday morning, I saw something surprising on alliancesjr's Tumblr. Turned out that, a day before, Addy posted on the store's Facebook page that, over the next two days, he would give away whatever inventory he wasn't able to sell. I was meeting my mom over lunch, I had an assignment later that evening and I had an article to finish - but I figured that I could spare an hour or two to stop by for a visit.
When I got off the Lawrence 'L' station, I noticed an add for the store's sale on the Chicago Reader newspaper box. Which seemed... oddly appropriate.
I arrived at the store at about 2:00 PM and... I expected there would be a lot of people, but I don't expect a line that stretched almost to the end of the block.
As I walked toward the end of the line, I noticed that somebody threw some magazines (presumably from their haul) into the nearest garbage bin.
The line was long, but, as I soon discovered, it moved at a decent pace.
Around us, some people were trying to sort through their hauls, and some called their friends.
While others simply stood around and watched
As we got closer, I got a better look at the store sign. Even as I was coming up, I noticed that the sign I was used to was stripped away, revealing what may well have been the original sign.
And I got to see a completely,eerily empty window display
It wasn't that long before I made my way inside.
I don't think the photo quite captures just how crowded it was. People moved across the store in two lines (one moving clockwise, one moving counterclockwise). Nobody really got that much time to stop by and pick through the shelves, because the were people trying to move forward behind them. You could duck into the few nooks and crannies the store had - but other people had the same idea, and then, there was always the problem of getting back into one of the lines, which you had to do if you wanted to keep moving.
Not that there was that much to pick through. I considered trying to find a few records for tweelore and vladiatorr [Sidenote](I was willing to look for some records for Kevin, but I don't really know what his tastes are, I had to text and ask him what he wanted. He never did respond), but I didn't really get a chance to do it. By the time I got into the store, all the records were picked clean. There were a few tapes, some CDs here and there. There were plenty of magazines, mostly music-related (the Playboys and other adult magazines were probably picked clean long before I got there). For books, it was mostly pregancy/child rearing, some romance, some fantasy, some random vintage paperbacks, some political stuff and some random general interest stuff here and there. There were also a few VHS tapes of some concerts and performances that, alas, were completely meaningless to me.
I wound up picking plenty of stuff for myself - some magazines, an issue of Boston Phoenix that wound up in there for some reason, and obscure Chicagoland suburban nightlife newspaper, a Chicago entertainment magazine I've never heard of, some news magazines, a few political books for me, a few books I think annanov would like, a book I think Vlad might like and a book I think Lore might like. All and all, I walked away with a pretty heavy bag.
A few minutes later, I was at the nearby library, finishing up an article, when I overheard a man telling his friend "if he got that many people buying from him, maybe he wouldn't have retired."
And later that day, Addy posted on Facebook that he stopped counting after 2,000 people. The inventory was picked completely clean, so there wouldn't be any need to open on Wednesday.
As for me... I was glad I had that opportunity, but at the same time... the guy I overheard at the library kind of had a point. Which is why it's hard not to feel a little guilty.
I will close this post with a link to a touching, thoughtful send-off to Shake, Rattle and Read by DNAinfo Chicago's Josh McGhee.
Here's a video Addy posted on the store's Facebook page.
RIP
But I admit that I can count the number of times I've visited the store with the fingers of single hand. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I discovered Gallery Bookstore years before I first stumbled upon Shake, Rattle and Read, and the Lakeview used bookstore always scratched my "cluttered bookstore with an eccentric owner and all sorts of interesting obscurities" itch. So when the word got out last November that Shake, Rattle & Read was closing, I didn't feel all that upset. But it was still an iconic store, a one of a kind business, and it was hard not to feel sad in the more abstract way. And it was really hard not to feel sorry for all the people to whom the store means more than it ever did to me.
From what I gathered, the owner of the building where the store is located didn't want to renew the lease. Addy thought about it and decided that, well, he wasn't getting any younger, and it was as good of a reason as any to retire. Originally, he hoped to sell the inventory, let someone else open their own bookstore, but that didn't pan out. So instead, over the past few months, Addy started selling the store inventory at the increasingly large discounts. Originally, he hoped to be done by March, but, by mid-April, he still had stuff to sell.
A few weeks earlier, I stopped by to see if I could buy something. I wound up getting a book that dealt with the now-forgotten chapter of Chicago ward politics. There was also an old issue of Playboy or two I had my eyes on, but didn't buy.
Then, last Sunday, I found out that the store closed a day earlier. I was a bit sad that I didn't know about it, but I figured that, hey - I had an opportunity to buy something and I took it. I could have bought more, but, hey - at least I won't have the regret of never stopping by at all.
But on Tuesday morning, I saw something surprising on alliancesjr's Tumblr. Turned out that, a day before, Addy posted on the store's Facebook page that, over the next two days, he would give away whatever inventory he wasn't able to sell. I was meeting my mom over lunch, I had an assignment later that evening and I had an article to finish - but I figured that I could spare an hour or two to stop by for a visit.
When I got off the Lawrence 'L' station, I noticed an add for the store's sale on the Chicago Reader newspaper box. Which seemed... oddly appropriate.
I arrived at the store at about 2:00 PM and... I expected there would be a lot of people, but I don't expect a line that stretched almost to the end of the block.
As I walked toward the end of the line, I noticed that somebody threw some magazines (presumably from their haul) into the nearest garbage bin.
The line was long, but, as I soon discovered, it moved at a decent pace.
Around us, some people were trying to sort through their hauls, and some called their friends.
While others simply stood around and watched
As we got closer, I got a better look at the store sign. Even as I was coming up, I noticed that the sign I was used to was stripped away, revealing what may well have been the original sign.
And I got to see a completely,eerily empty window display
It wasn't that long before I made my way inside.
I don't think the photo quite captures just how crowded it was. People moved across the store in two lines (one moving clockwise, one moving counterclockwise). Nobody really got that much time to stop by and pick through the shelves, because the were people trying to move forward behind them. You could duck into the few nooks and crannies the store had - but other people had the same idea, and then, there was always the problem of getting back into one of the lines, which you had to do if you wanted to keep moving.
Not that there was that much to pick through. I considered trying to find a few records for tweelore and vladiatorr [Sidenote](I was willing to look for some records for Kevin, but I don't really know what his tastes are, I had to text and ask him what he wanted. He never did respond), but I didn't really get a chance to do it. By the time I got into the store, all the records were picked clean. There were a few tapes, some CDs here and there. There were plenty of magazines, mostly music-related (the Playboys and other adult magazines were probably picked clean long before I got there). For books, it was mostly pregancy/child rearing, some romance, some fantasy, some random vintage paperbacks, some political stuff and some random general interest stuff here and there. There were also a few VHS tapes of some concerts and performances that, alas, were completely meaningless to me.
I wound up picking plenty of stuff for myself - some magazines, an issue of Boston Phoenix that wound up in there for some reason, and obscure Chicagoland suburban nightlife newspaper, a Chicago entertainment magazine I've never heard of, some news magazines, a few political books for me, a few books I think annanov would like, a book I think Vlad might like and a book I think Lore might like. All and all, I walked away with a pretty heavy bag.
A few minutes later, I was at the nearby library, finishing up an article, when I overheard a man telling his friend "if he got that many people buying from him, maybe he wouldn't have retired."
And later that day, Addy posted on Facebook that he stopped counting after 2,000 people. The inventory was picked completely clean, so there wouldn't be any need to open on Wednesday.
As for me... I was glad I had that opportunity, but at the same time... the guy I overheard at the library kind of had a point. Which is why it's hard not to feel a little guilty.
I will close this post with a link to a touching, thoughtful send-off to Shake, Rattle and Read by DNAinfo Chicago's Josh McGhee.
Here's a video Addy posted on the store's Facebook page.
Click to viewRIP