Others

Beyond the Hastings Books and Records in town, we had another store at some point at the new mall. I can’t remember the name of it - Book Nook? Or maybe I’m confusing it with another name. Regardless, when the sparkling new White Sands Mall opened, I think in the early 1980s, it included a bookstore. I don’t recall that it lasted long there, maybe a few years, eventually replaced by a t-shirt store or something. It was fine, but just not as well-stocked as Hastings. I looked for books everywhere, from convenience stores to grocery stores to museums. We even had a store called Yucca News Stand on the main street in town. The back wall was covered with magazine racks, while paperbacks sat in free-standing racks in part of the store. I never bought much there, though, since the owners were quite intolerant of kids, especially those who came in to browse. If you took down a magazine it better go back on the rack in thirty seconds or you’d be told “this isn’t a library.” I went in once in a long while, but mostly patronized the Hastings. I also recall a dime store, Mott’s, that went bust at some point, and I think I bought one of the pre-ST:TMP novels there. Let’s just say I tried to find books wherever I could in the Dark Ages pre-Amazon. Looking back, it seems hit and miss with finding something worth buying, but now feels a little like an ongoing scavenger hunt.