Mockingbird Books in its second location
Mockingbird Books now has a second store, in Guerneville, in the space that Twice Told Book occupied for decades. The address is 14045 Armstrong Woods Road. Shannon, who owned Twice Told Books and brought it into local prominence during the past three years, was ready to retire. With River Reader closing a few years ago, a casualty of the recession, Twice Told was the only book store in the county, west of Sebastopol, to the coast. Now it’s Mockingbird.
The stores are open!
The store, about one-third the size of the Sebastopol shop, shares space with The Coffee Bazaar, who makes, I can attest, a good and spicy Mexican mocha. The Coffee Bazaar also provides ice cream, pastries, and lunch items. It’s a gathering place for people, including those who are using the laundromat that is also part of the complex.
This building floods. Of course, most of us can’t remember what a flood looks like. Since the last really bad ones, rural county towns have gotten their protocols together, and this building can be easily sandbagged if it’s necessary. Basically, moving all the inventory off the bottom two shelves would probably protect against most flood damage, other than structural damage to the venerable building itself. It’s something many of us don’t think about anymore, since it’s been so long since we’ve seen rain.
With Linda, in blue, ready to help you find a book.
Mark, Geronimo and Jeff spent a busy several days cleaning, conducting inventory, and shelving, and they opened around the first of November. Some, but not all of the signs have arrived, but the locals are stopping in to check out the changes.
The Coffee Bazaar has tables on the sidewalk. I wanted a picture of the sign and the front window, but there were coffee patrons there, and the locals of Guerneville… well, let’s say they value their privacy, so I didn’t want to take a picture. I’m pretty sure, though, that closer to Christmas we will see a train set in that window.
The store will have mostly used books, but will carry a small selection of new, and most likely they will order books for locals, since the easiest other option is on-line, and we don’t want to encourage that habit! The store also offers calendars, greeting cards and journals. Currently they are observing winter hours; 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Geronimo frantically lists book to be ready for opening.
The store serves an interesting set of demographics; locals, and tourists. It’s right on the road to Armstrong Woods, and next door to a coffee-and-ice-cream place, across the street from a wrap-shop. It’s the perfect place for the vacationer who has finished a book, or who forgot their Kindle-charger to pick up a mystery, local history book, romance or western… or something for 
fussy kids. The locals are a diverse bunch; some very liberal and monied folks in and around the town, long-time Sonoma County families up-mountain in Cazadero who vote Republican (or libertarian), sheep and dairy cattle farmers closer to the coast, and several varieties of self-employment.
I drove out to take pictures today and got a bonus; the leaves along the way were in full fall glory, spangles of gold against the backdrop of the evergreens.
