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The Glow: Pullman (high)Lights

The view of a great shop...well...any book shop is great, in all actuality.... (Chloe Rambo)
The view of a great shop...well...any book shop is great, in all actuality.... (Chloe Rambo)

I got the name! The Glow: -insert selected city here- (high)Lights....what do you think?  Finally - a phrase that describes what I do, (check out the city's highlights!) and something catchy, (glowing city lights!). Whew! So here's the third weekly installment of my adventures...

There's usually only one thought in my mind when traveling through the 'Home of the Cougs', Pullman, Washington: "Which coffee shop?" (That's not really all that surprising, now is it?)

While grabbing some 'joe down on the East end of Main Street, I came across a little used book store - Brused Books. To be honest, any store with a huge window-display of various art books is exactly my type of place.

"The name came to owner Bruce Calkins in a dream..." says the website for Brused Books: Personal.palouse.net. And it's perfect. The store features over 80,000 different titles, (*jaw drops...) and keeps track of each one old-school style.  No 'database' for these guys; it's classic card files and trade-in credit all the way.

This is exactly the warm-comforting-scholarly atmosphere that you experience directly upon stepping into this book-lover's heaven. Looking for a copy of Allende's 'Eva Luna'? (They've got at least 5...) How about the I Ching? (I counted 4, including countless textbooks delving into every other surrounding philosophy...)

Brused Books will also satisfy your inner-world traveler.  I like to call it the 'Center Cultural Mini-Store', (based on it's location: the center of the store, and what it offers: a high dose of culture...) It features authentic Prayer Flags, ethnic pan-flutes, fair-trade herbal tea, and hand-woven scarves and bags from various international countries. This place truly is a go-to place for anyone interested in finding a crazy-good deal in a little shop with a crazy-cool atmosphere.

Chloe's Tried-and-True Favorites: I have to hand it to the Music section. Located wayyy in the back, I've found some great steals. It's got everything ranging from orchestra sheet music and jazz instruction books to the pubished journals of Kurt Cobain (had to buy it), and the lyric-book for The Doors, (had to get that one too...)

What's better: A great used book?, or a brand-spankin' new one? What has been your favorite book-store find?

In 2006, then-editor Steve Smith of The Spokesman-Review had the idea of starting a publication for an often forgotten audience: teenagers. The Vox Box was a continuation of the Vox, an all-student staffed newspaper published by The Spokesman-Review. High school student journalists who staffed the Vox made all content decisions as they learn about the trade of journalism. This blog's mission was to give students an opportunity to publish their voices. The Vox Box and the Vox wrapped up in June 2009, but you can follow former staffers' new blog at http://voxxiez.blogspot.com.