The Bookstore is Closing

, a longtime independent seller next door to Gene's on Hopyard Road, will close on Sept. 30.

Most everything in the store is on sale for $1, with specialty items and fixtures priced separately.

Owner Lisa Kelly seemed cheerful as she helped customers on Saturday, one observer noted, saying while she was out of business she wasn't "that out."

The store is a mish-mash of titles, from fairly recent to long ago, with large sections of romance and mystery paperbacks mixed with juicy finds such as a copy of The Godfather and vintage sets for kids in the Hardy Boys genre.

According to the store's answering machine phone message, they are no longer returning calls or answering the phone as they are too busy with the last few weeks of business. The machine recording says they are in their "final clearance days." All of the shelves are on sale as well as the books and all sales are final.

The closure leaves as not only the only independent book store in town but as the ONLY store specializing in books, as .

Some nearby options for book lovers include: Half Price Books and Barnes and Noble in Dublin.

Where do you go to dig for dusty but beloved real live books you can hold in your hands? Tell us in the comments.