The perfect bookshop weathers the storm. – “The Avenue Victor Hugo Bookshop is a clutter of paper treasure wedged between the haute couture and haute cuisine of Boston's Newbury Street. For 27 years the used-book store has lured students, publishing types, and at least one former Monitor editor in chief (often seen schlepping a teetering pile of book trade-ins across the Back Bay at lunchtime). In the bookshop's window, writer Harlan Ellison once perched for three days and wrote three stories as passersby gawked. Internet competition and rising costs – including a $12,000 monthly rent rarely met but never pursued in full by the appreciative landlord – are forcing the shop to close in December. The Monitor asked owner Vincent McCaffrey, who is looking for new space, to reflect on his dream – the perfect bookshop.” (from The Christian Science Monitor) [Library Stuff]