Daedalus Books
Founded1975[1]
FounderSandy McAdams[1]
OwnerJackson Landers[2]
Hq location cityCharlottesville, Virginia
Hq location countryUnited States
Area servedCharlottesville, Virginia metropolitan area
IndustryBookseller
ProductsUsed book

Daedalus Books is a used bookstore based in the Downtown Mall of Charlottesville, Virginia.[1] It was established in 1975.[1] It contains more than 100,000 books and is a quirky institution in the city.[3] A reviewer for The Washington Post described Daedalus as the best bookstore south of the Strand Bookstore in Greenwich Village.[4]

Description

The bookstore has been in the same location for more than 50 years, and its building is more than 100 years old.[3] It keeps more than 100,000 books.[3] The store issues hand-written receipts.[3] The poetry room at Daedalus attracts particular attention.[5] Poetry attractions include the death mask of John Keats.[3]

Charlottesville's Downtown Mall is a destination for those visiting bookstores including Daedalus.[6][7] It is also part of a network of other unconventional Charlottesville business.[3] Various reviewers list Daedalus among Charlottesville's top attractions.[5][6] Reviewers describe the store as cozy,[8][9] a place to get lost,[10] bewildering,[7] and a three-story temple of secondhand literature.[4] The name of the store refers to Daedalus because the bookshelves create a Labyrinth in which people become lost.[3][2]

Author Rita Mae Brown said that Daedalus and McAdams delighted her.[11] Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti said that his visit to Daedalus was an honor for him.[7]

People

Sandy McAdams (1942-2024) established the store and managed it. One reviewer said that McAdams and the bookstore looked like each other.[7] 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.[1] 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.[10] McAdams was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000 and managed the store while using a wheelchair from 2008.[11][12] McAdams sold the shop in 2023 and died in 2024.[11]

Jackson Landers purchased the bookstore from McAdams in 2023.[2] McAdams wanted to pass the store to someone who could maintain it as a Charlottesville institution.[2][3] Jackson himself is a journalist and author.[2]

Further consideration

Allard, Terri (April 9, 2016). "Daedalus Bookshop". Charlottesville Inside-Out. Charlottesville, Virginia: PBS. 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 6 January 2025 at the Wayback Machine. 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 November 10, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. 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 1 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine. 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 January 6, 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  9. ^ Esselman, Mary (January 22, 2011). "Book bonanza: Take a ride on the reading". The Hook. Archived July 22, 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ^ "Great spots: 17 of Charlottesville's most intriguing places". C-Ville Weekly. September 21, 2016. Archived February 26, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  11. ^ Spencer, Hawes (25 December 2024). "C&O, Daedalus Books founder Sandy McAdams dies at 82". The Daily Progress. Archived 29 December 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  12. ^ McKenzie, Bryan (15 March 2009). "Walking, so that others may too". The Daily Progress