Loading

  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Daedalus Books (Virginia)
38°01′51″N 78°28′44″W / 38.0308°N 78.4790°W / 38.0308; -78.4790

Daedalus Books
IndustryBookseller
Founded1975 (1975)
FounderSandy McAdams
Headquarters
Charlottesville, Virginia
,
United States
Area served
Charlottesville, Virginia metropolitan area
ProductsUsed book
OwnerJackson Landers

Daedalus Books is a used bookstore based in the Downtown Mall of Charlottesville, Virginia. It was established in 1975. It contains more than 100,000 books and is a quirky institution in the city. A reviewer for The Washington Post called described Daedalus as the best bookstore south of the Strand Bookstore in Greenwich Village.

Description

People describe Daedalus Books as a labyrinth.

The bookstore has been in the same location for more than 50 years, and its building is more than 100 years old. It keeps more than 100,000 books. The store issues hand-written receipts. A long-time employee said that the store attracts freaks and weirdos as customers. The poetry room at Daedalus attracts particular attention. Poetry attractions include the death mask of John Keats.

Charlottesville's Downtown Mall is a destination for visiting bookstores including Daedalus. It is also part of a network of other unconventional Charlottesville business. Various reviewers list Daedalus among Charlottesville's top attractions. Reviewers describe the store as cozy, a place to get lost, bewildering, and a three-story temple of secondhand literature. The name of the store refers to Daedalus because the bookshelves create a Labyrinth in which people become lost.

Author Rita Mae Brown said that Daedalus and McAdams delighted her. Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti said that his visit to Daedalus was an honor for him.

People

Sandy McAdams (1942-2024) established the store and managed it. One reviewer said that McAdams and the bookstore looked like each other. McAdams also started a restaurant near the bookstore, and is credited with developing Charlottesville's Downtown Mall as a place for food and browsing books. After owning the shop for 30 years, Sandy McAdams committed to only read novels in an effort to gain wisdom rather than read nonfiction and only learn facts. McAdams was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000 and managed the store while using a wheelchair from 2008. McAdams sold the shop in 2023 and passed away in 2024.

Jackson Landers purchased the bookstore from McAdams in 2023. McAdams wanted to pass the store to someone who could maintain it as a Charlottesville institution. Jackson himself is a journalist and author.

Further consideration

Allard, Terri (April 9, 2016). "Daedalus Bookshop". Charlottesville Inside-Out. Season 9. Charlottesville, Virginia: PBS. VPM Media Corporation. Retrieved January 6, 2024.

References

  1. ^ Garretson, Lawrence (August 26, 2015). "Hipster 1.0: The generation that created the Downtown Mall scene". C-Ville Weekly.
  2. ^ Spencer, Hawes (2 December 2023). "Inheriting the labyrinth: Daedalus Books under new ownership". The Daily Progress. Archived from the original on 6 January 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  3. ^ Hausman, Sandy (11 December 2024). "A makeover for Charlottesville's book mecca". WVTF. Virginia Tech.
  4. ^ Powell, Michael (September 1, 1999). "Charlottesville Education". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  5. ^ Murray, Wistar Watts (June 23, 2009). "25 essential Charlottesville experiences for real locals". C-Ville Weekly.
  6. ^ Glass, Maggie (1 March 2024). "Independent bookstores celebrating milestones in downtown Charlottesville". 29news.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  7. ^ Cedermark, Andrew (September 6, 2011). "The best American nonrequired buying". C-Ville Weekly.
  8. ^ Copenhaver, Beth (April 3, 2017). "Daedalus Bookshop Is An Incredible Labyrinth Bookstore In VA". OnlyInYourState. Archived from the original on January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  9. ^ Esselman, Mary (January 22, 2011). "Book bonanza: Take a ride on the reading". The Hook (newspaper). Archived from the original on July 22, 2024.
  10. ^ "Great spots: 17 of Charlottesville's most intriguing places". C-Ville Weekly. September 21, 2016. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  11. ^ Spencer, Hawes (25 December 2024). "C&O, Daedalus Books founder Sandy McAdams dies at 82". The Daily Progress. Archived from the original on 29 December 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  12. ^ McKenzie, Bryan (15 March 2009). "Walking, so that others may too". The Daily Progress.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daedalus_Books_(Virginia)&oldid=1268042300"