Telegraph Avenue, the most emblematic street of Berkeley, is always bustling with people. Students, street vendors, homeless people, all mingle among the street stands, stores and restaurants. It was the epicenter of the student protests in the 1960s and 70s, and it still has that hippy flavor that makes this city so famous.
This afternoon I went for a walk on Telegraph, to walk among people, and also to visit a couple of important bookstores in the area. In particular, I wanted to go to Cody's Books. Located on the corner of Telegraph and Haste Street, Cody's was a gorgeous bookstore with a list of over a million books, and whose selection of math books was legendary. People said (half joking) that when Berkeley mathematicians wanted to find a book they didn't go to the library, they went to Cody's. Last time I was in Berkeley in 2004 I bought a few books there.
Besides, Cody's always preserved that hippy character from the protest era. In 1968, when police hit demonstrators in Telegraph Avenue, Cody's would shelter them and become an improvised hospital. Cody's kept in its shelves the "Satanic Versos", by Salman Rushdie, when all major chains had retired it, and that cost Cody's a bombing attack in 1989. Cody's Books was a symbol of Berkeley, and of freedom of speech, as well as an icon for the math community.
Cody's Books has closed, a casualty of the Barnes & Nobles and Fnacs of this world. Couldn't compete with the big chains, the Walmarts and the Carrefours. And ultimately the Internet finished it off. Today I got the disappointment of the year when I saw Cody's closed and with a large sign saying "Available."
This already happened to me in one of my trips to Boston, when Avenue Victor Hugo closed down. Later in Barcelona, when the historic LibrerÃa Francesa liquidated its stock. Now Cody's. Nothing makes me sadder than seeing a great bookstore disappear. Rest in peace, Cody's Books.
