Ted’s Tribute to Ukazoo Books

Very sad. I found out that a bookstore I liked had closed.

Ukazoo was a new and used bookstore in a strip center across Dulaney Valley Road from the Towson Town Center. For a decade it was one of my favorite bookstores. You never knew what you would find, but I know that I always found books I liked.

A few memories of Ukazoo:

They always had a great selection of books about reading and writing. I bought a bunch of them. Two Sides followers might remember me talking about Larry McMurtry. Nancy Pearl and I talked about his book Lonesome Dove in my interview with her. I remember buying his book, Books: A Memoir, at Ukazoo. Even fans of his books might not know that he owned a bookstore and that he was a major presence in the bookselling world. 

Ukazoo had a buy three get one free deal. One day, not thinking about it, I went to check out with three books. The person checking me out reminded me that I could get a free book. Displayed on the counter was Roald Dahl’s Boy: Tales of a Childhood. I took it off of the little display stand and put it on my pile. I am a big Dahl fan; The BFG and Matilda are favorites. I knew Dahl’s books, but I didn’t know Dahl. Reading Boy was just as enjoyable as reading any of his novels. It was really interesting to me how many of his childhood experiences I recognized in his books.

A niece was a Ukazoo fan. One year, her Christmas present was a Ukazoo gift certificate. I wonder if she knows they are gone.

I was a pretty regular visitor until they lost the lease on their space. They moved to another spot not too far away, but it was much smaller and in a less convenient location. I went to see the new place when they reopened. I remember having a little trouble finding it and then being disappointed when I went in. I’m not sure I ever made it back again, though I thought about it many times. 

I found myself in the area with a little time. I drove by but didn’t see it. I stopped and looked online to see ‘Permanently Closed’.  Every independent bookstore that closes is a loss, but even more so when it is one you know and love.

Anybody out there also a fan of Ukazoo or another local indie bookstore that has sadly closed it’s doors in the past several years? Let us know at twosides2thestory@yahoo.com