Maxwell's, I love you! Found a first edition of more than one book for my mom who is a huge bibliophile and collector. I get to be the hero every birthday thanks to Maxwell's!

In an era when the printed word is so readily being replaced by e-books & the mammoth megastores like Amazon continue to threaten or close old-fashioned, independent bookstores, Maxwell's has survived. Why? It's run by a real bookman (Craig Maxwell, grandson of the original founder of the late, great Wahrenbrocks downtown) who knows & loves books. Plus, it's got a great used-book atmosphere & is smack in the middle of a lovely block of the Village on La Mesa Boulevard, where you can spend a leisurely afternoon browsing for books, then hitting the neighboring antique shops, coffeehouses, & restaurants. Maxwell's specializes in more scholarly, thought-provoking books & classic literature, stuff you sometimes never knew existed or are unlikely to find anywhere else; quite a refreshing change from the usual romance paperbacks that predominate in most used bookstores. But their selection is wide, & they always have a $2.00 sale cart out front! Maxwell's is bucking the trend of vanishing independents & has been in La Mesa for 7 years. Well worth a visit!