Looking for culture (book stores, record stores, anything in range...) (St. Louis: houses, buy)

[jackhitts]

OK. I'm in Waynesville right now and I'm living with the fact that there's nothing to do. That, I've accepted. I know that my fun will have to come on weekends.

I like St. Louis, but it's a haul.What I want to know, then, is this: are there any used book stores/ record stores/ cool theatres in Jeff City, Columbia or Springfield? I can't seem to find a fricking one.

I'd figure that Columbia would have some sort of used book store, it being a major college town and all. I found one cool record store, but that's it. No book stores. Jeff City searches have yielded nothing, and I have a creeping suspicion that without the Bass Pro Shops people would leave Springfield.

Am I really going to have to make 4-hour round trip drive to St. Louis if I want to do anything remotely cool?

Any suggestions on cool places to check out are welcome.

[OA 5599]

The best advice I can give you is to explore some new hobbies. While the area definitely lacks the cultural amenities of a larger city, it does make up for it in outdoor activities. Waynesville and the surronding areas are blessed with a great deal of natural beauty...you can easily go hiking at Clifty Hollow Natural Area, which is near Dixon, or explore Kaintuck Hollow in the National Forest, just east of town. There is also a lot of fishing, both for bass on the Gasconade River, and for trout on Spring, Mill, and Little Piney creeks. There are also a lot of trails in the Mark Twain National Forest where you can hike or go mountain biking.

You will of course enjoy escaping the Ozarks for something more cultured every now and then...as I did when was going to college in Rolla, but you really can do a lot to keep busy in the area. Even if outdoor activities currently aren't your cup of tea, I strongly suggest you try a few, as it will likely result in you enjoying living in Waynesville quite a bit more.

EDIT:

Check out this website: http://www.rollanet.org/~conorw/cwome/

It describes many different outdoor activities around your area, and should be able to keep you busy for awhile. I enjoy the cultural amenities in Austin, but would gladly trade a weekend or two a month here for a weekend enjoying the outdoors in the Ozarks!

[jackhitts]

I realize all that, and I've had dozens of local people advise me on outdoor activities. I've done a few of those things, and I very much enjoy driving around the back roads and exploring, taking in all the natural beauty. I think I'm all set on that front.

But the reason why I came to this board to ask about some escapes is because while I know plenty of people that have advised me some things to do in this area, I don't know anyone from Columbia/ JC or SGF to advise me on things to do around there. They've gotta be there, I'm just not finding them, and I don't get to go exploring in those parts very much. I'm specifically looking for some bookstore or record store suggestions in said places for when I do make those twice-monthly journeys out of the Ozarks.

[cyrano]

First, you have to recognize that used book stores are going the way of the dodo-- Amazon and a couple of other online used booksellers have made it unprofitable in most cases to sell used books from brick and mortar stores. So you're looking for examples of a dying breed.

But there are options in Columbia, they're just not easy to find. Ken Green has operated Acorn Books, a used book store in Columbia, for a number of years, but when he was evicted due to expansion of the Missouri Theater on 9th st., he moved his inventory to a couple of the antique mall places-- one of them is The Market Place, 1100 Business Loop 70 West, just north of I-70. The other one may be in the Ice Chalet antique place, I don't know.

I believe the extremely funky and idiosyncratic Adams Books is still open on its regular hours, meaning daytimes Saturday. It's probably the antithesis of "cool" according to most people's definition, but it is there, "there" meaning a block north of the county courthouse. I would have a coronary if I ever found that they had a website. I doubt that they have a phone. I found a listing saying that the owner had died in 2002. That's the extent of my knowledge of that place.

Columbia Books is a used book store that as of this moment is located on South Providence. They're moving, check the website below for more info. They're not big on walk-in traffic as I understand it, they sell most books online. Columbia Books Online

There's a fairly recently opened used book store on 9th street on the east side of the street, a block south of Broadway. Never been in there, don't remember the name.

The only independent new bookstore in the area that I know of is Downtown Book and Toy on High Street in Jefferson City. Its selection is limited, but I buy there because I work in the area.

The MU bookstore on campus has relocated, temporarily, to some place other than its regular building. Surf around and maybe you'll find the temp location. It has an ok selection.

For "cool" things in Columbia besides used books, probably the best online resource is the online version of the Columbia Missourian's Vox entertainment magazine, Vox Magazine. The Columbia Tribune's version of this is their Go! Thursday supplement, accessible at this site-- Go! Magazine | The Columbia Daily Tribune - Columbia, MO. Both places will have live music and sundry event schedules.

Try coming to Columbia on a weekend evening or when one of our street festivals are going on. The presence of 30,000+ students at MU creates a demand for all sorts of youngish or young-at-heart diversions. Friday night, my wife and I wandered downtown after eating a really good meal at in.gre.di.ent, a new restaurant across from the Journalism school at MU. Thousands of people had the same idea-- wandering, not in.gre.di.ent. Sparky's ice cream was jammed with people, as were the coffeehouses. There was a line for people going in to see one of the (nearly) first-run foreign and indie movies at Ragtag Cinema (Ragtag Cinema), which relocated to a cool building it shares with Uprise Bakery and 9th St. Video, one of the remaining brick and mortar places that rents a huge variety of indie and foreign movies.

Vox or Go will tell you a lot more about the club scene-- that's outside my age group, but I do know that my wife's nieces love to come down here from St. Louis on weekends and hit the clubs.

Springfield doesn't need any of these things because they have Bass Pro and lots of churches. Yeah, that's a little snarky, but there are different things for different people, and what Springfield has evidently works for people who live there, and more power to them. My guess is that you will grow old waiting for much of a "cool" scene to spring (heh) forward from that area.

But you could always go to Branson.

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by jackhitts

I realize all that, and I've had dozens of local people advise me on outdoor activities. I've done a few of those things, and I very much enjoy driving around the back roads and exploring, taking in all the natural beauty. I think I'm all set on that front.

But the reason why I came to this board to ask about some escapes is because while I know plenty of people that have advised me some things to do in this area, I don't know anyone from Columbia/ JC or SGF to advise me on things to do around there. They've gotta be there, I'm just not finding them, and I don't get to go exploring in those parts very much. I'm specifically looking for some bookstore or record store suggestions in said places for when I do make those twice-monthly journeys out of the Ozarks.

I'm glad you've started exploring the area. I used to randomly drive down back roads to explore when I lived in Rolla...it was a great way to cool down after studying all day. However, while at Rolla I did hear a lot of people saying there was "nothing" to do, which isn't exactly true, as there is so much natural beauty.

I can't help you much with book and record stores in the area. Most of the time when I left it was to head to St. Louis for a concert...if you are in to that sort of thing, venues like the Pageant attract a lot of great music, and you can see lesser-known artists at places like Pop's, and even huge artists at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater...I saw Radiohead there when I was in the area back in May and it was amazing.

[jackhitts]

Thanks for the info, cyrano. Next time I'm up there I'll have to check those places out. I realize that used bookstores are dying a slow death...but I seem to have found a few on STL. I come from Michigan, and there are still plenty in Ann Arbor (which seems like a comperable college town to me), which is why I thought it was unusual that the ones in Columbia were so difficult to find.

I did see one cool record store, on 9th (I think? Still don't know my geography) next to Lakota Coffee Co. Reminded me of the High Fidelity one. I felt like I should be coming across a lot more places like that in Columbia, especially with so many good bands playing right down the street at the Blue Note (which I also enjoy very much).

And OA: I know what it feels like to be in that situation...like I said, I come from Michigan, and where I attended college (in Hillsdale) is, like Rolla, very small (even smaller - try 8,000 as opposed to 16 or 12 or whatever Rolla is these days) and out of the way (about 2 hours from Detroit, 1.5 hours to Ann Arbor, 1.5 to Lansing, and 1 to Kalamazoo). A lot of the kids I went to college with complained about having nothing to do. We found fun. The difference is, here I don't know too many people my age and for some reason it's harder to find fun on your own. Which is why I've been trying to ask around.

Also, I'm thinking about heading to STL later this month to catch the Drive-By Truckers at the Pageant. I know where it is, I've seen it whenever I go to U City, but never been inside. Is it a nice venue?

[ozarksboy]

Originally Posted by jackhitts

I realize that used bookstores are dying a slow death...

On Pine Street in Rolla, across from the library at Ninth Street, there is a used book store called The Reader's Corner. After you visit there, walk a coupla blocks north on Pine to Velvet Sunshine, another used book store.

Drive on east to St. James, and you'll find on the main street another used book store called The Book Addict.

The Rolla Public Library is also good and can get you any book you want if you've got the title and author.

[adysmom]

Originally Posted by jackhitts

OK. I'm in Waynesville right now and I'm living with the fact that there's nothing to do. That, I've accepted. I know that my fun will have to come on weekends.

I like St. Louis, but it's a haul.What I want to know, then, is this: are there any used book stores/ record stores/ cool theatres in Jeff City, Columbia or Springfield? I can't seem to find a fricking one.

I'd figure that Columbia would have some sort of used book store, it being a major college town and all. I found one cool record store, but that's it. No book stores. Jeff City searches have yielded nothing, and I have a creeping suspicion that without the Bass Pro Shops people would leave Springfield.

Am I really going to have to make 4-hour round trip drive to St. Louis if I want to do anything remotely cool?

Any suggestions on cool places to check out are welcome.

There is so much too do here without having ones nose berried in a book all the time. get out on the lakes and have some fun. But if it's books you want look at E Bay lots of used books and stop at junk sales.

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by jackhitts

And OA: I know what it feels like to be in that situation...like I said, I come from Michigan, and where I attended college (in Hillsdale) is, like Rolla, very small (even smaller - try 8,000 as opposed to 16 or 12 or whatever Rolla is these days) and out of the way (about 2 hours from Detroit, 1.5 hours to Ann Arbor, 1.5 to Lansing, and 1 to Kalamazoo). A lot of the kids I went to college with complained about having nothing to do. We found fun. The difference is, here I don't know too many people my age and for some reason it's harder to find fun on your own. Which is why I've been trying to ask around.

Also, I'm thinking about heading to STL later this month to catch the Drive-By Truckers at the Pageant. I know where it is, I've seen it whenever I go to U City, but never been inside. Is it a nice venue?

I'm a huge Drive-By Truckers fan myself. The local NPR station played one of their songs this summer, and I was immediately hooked, and was also able to see them live at the Austin City Limits music festival this past fall - it was a great show. I've also gotten hooked on My Morning Jacket lately...alt-country/southern rock is great...I just wish I would have discovered it sooner!

The Pageant is a really nice venue. It is super-clean, has a nice bar, and a really cool atmosphere. It is fairly controlled as far as concert venues go, as the section where alcohol is allowed is fenced off from the minors section, and there isn't any crowd-surfing allowed (although I doubt anyone would try that at a Drive-By Truckers concert), but overall it is a really fun and nice place.

UMR/MST is actually a similar size to your school...about 6,000 students total. I had a lot of fun there, but we definitely did have to find alternative things to do instead of just heading to the bars or football tailgates like students in Columbia or Ann Arbor can do.

[ShadowCaver]

ozarksboy hit the main ones in the Rolla & St James area good. Also, if do venture down to Springfield there are quite a few worth looking at too.

http://www.bookcastleonline.com/ [very good]
Well Fed Head Books | 417-832-9333 | New Used Rare Books | Springfield | MO | Missouri | Downtown [also very good]
Redeemed Music & Books [haven't been to this one...]

CD Warehouse [for music]

and:
Stick It in Your Ear LP's Tapes & CD's
300 E Walnut St
Springfield, MO 65806
(417) 864-0500‎

Lastly, if want to get a good feel for the Ozarks, its wondrous history & people Ozark Books has many great books on her.

Likewise, the Pageant is a very good venue [only qualm is to me personally the smoking can get quite thick], have seen quite a few shows there. Wonderful area around it too.