thenationofartists.com

Stumbling out of downtown Vietnamese eatery "Blossom" last night, we walked into a bookstore celebrating its FIRST ANNIVERSARY. Why is this a great milestone? A. Because nobody is opening bookstores anymore. and B. They're offering 50% off every previously loved book in the store!

What really made us melt, however, was the incredible range of top flight art mags and periodicals (not on sale) they have in stock - from small local presses, such as LA's "Amor Fati," to curiously delicious mags such as "there," "The Infamous" and "Blue Canvas," and internationally recognized pubs like "Communication Arts," "Bitch," and "Aperture." Of course, our favorite mag "Esopus," is on the shelf also, adding that pinnacle ingredient to an already magnificent foundation.

What is this place? Literally, it's named "The Last Bookstore in Los Angeles" and is findable online (a much less experiential exercise) at www.lastbookstorela.com/, where arrangements can also be made for the store to buy or trade your formerly precious paperbacks, coffee table books and hardcover trophies.

Fortunately, this is not, literally, the last bookstore in LA, nor is it even the most recent to have opened. Deyermond, coincidentally on another Main Street (this one in Santa Monica), is the latest art & book space from Michael Deyermond, and is carving out its slice of the cool-books-are-still-cool pie in an incredibly worthy space. 

Known for his previously fantastic (for five years) Equator Books on Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice, Deyermond's new space feels more like a find than its chic'er-than-thou predecessor. Here, its books are almost hidden behind an art-filled facade, and the focus of the room is a large stay-a-while wood table that beckons its patrons to peruse in perpetuity.

For art lovers who love art titles, these two (new) stores are two of the finest finds we've found. We trust you'll commit to curling up in their fold.