Closing the book

Re “For Dutton’s books, it’s the end,” Feb. 26

I cannot easily express how Dutton’s was, and always will be, so much more than a bookstore to me, and how deeply it influenced my development as I continued to read and matured into adulthood. I continually found treasures of literature, information and music at Dutton’s. I also had the extraordinary opportunity to meet and hear authors, including Tom Wolfe, Amy Tan and Margaret Atwood, at no cost, and share these experiences with others from the community.

To Doug Dutton, thank you for providing such a wonderful, helpful and warm center for books and reading, and for sharing your love of books with so many of us. You will be sorely missed but never forgotten.

Kim Rose

Los Angeles

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In noting the passing of Dutton’s, it may be telling of today’s culture that The Times chooses to emphasize how dire this is by pointing out that “readers such as Dustin Hoffman and Meg Ryan have sought counsel on stocking their bookshelves.” Noble thespians they be, and long may they prosper, but did you have to couch the demise of Dutton’s in terms of movie stars?

Barbara Lamprecht

Pasadena

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With the imminent passing of Dutton’s books, I feel as if I am on the verge of losing a relative. That is, a relative I actually like.

Burt Prelutsky

North Hills

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Re “The final page,” Opinion, Feb. 27

Like T.C. Boyle, I deeply regret the closure of Dutton’s books. It should be noted that despite the closure of wonderful stores specializing in new books, such as Dutton’s and the Midnight Special, there remain a number of excellent, less-heralded used-book stores where one can find obscure and rewarding oddities, often at a fraction of the price of new books. Because their stock is so varied and unusual, these stores have been kept afloat by selling on the Internet, an option unavailable to places stocking in-print competition with Amazon. Used-book stores are a refuge from the uniform alienation of big-box warehouses, and patronizing them is a great alternative to the limited choices offered by the publishing market.

Peter Reich

Los Angeles