Sad

San Jose lesbians and feminists mourn loss of Sisterspirit

In its heyday, Sisterspirit Books was the place for lesbians and feminists to go in San Jose.

It was the place to meet like minds, a place to buy books and videos they couldn't get anywhere else, or simply revel in the comfort of being together in a world that went out of its way to make them feel there was no place for such things -- or no place for such people.

"There were no places like this when we started," said Margie Struble of San Jose, who has been a volunteer and guiding force at Sisterspirit for 24 of the 26 years it's been open. "Many people met their partners here."

But now after a quarter of a century, Sisterspirit will be closing its doors for good, another victim of online sales and mainstream bookstores.

Another small, independent bookstore down the tubes, and one that found its niche among a community where it thrived.

I feel like going over to Sqecial Media. Its eclectic collection is probably the closest thing that we have in Lexington to this type of store; it has carried books on topics such as paganism and homosexuality long before the mainstream stores did, and they've been going since 1972, mixing books with interesting gifts. Unfortunately their hours don't line up with my work hours and bus riding very well. But I hope they survive the current crisis in bookselling. Thanks to RTeeter of LISNews for the link.