Known for our fascinating selection of new and used titles, author events, enthusiastically diverse staff, and urban California aesthetic, DIESEL is the cutting-edge, high octane, community-radiating, independent neighborhood bookstore we all dream of hanging out in, getting imaginally turned on in, and literarily inspired by.

 

 

 

 

 

03.04.10

DIESEL Bookseller Karen Keith Reviews The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

 

Karen Keith of DIESEL, A Bookstore in Oakland reviews Stieg Larsson's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Won't you join her?

 

02.10.10

DIESEL Bookseller Grant Outerbridge Reviews The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear

 

Grant Outerbridge of DIESEL, A Bookstore in Oakland reviews Walter Moer's "The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear" in our history alcove. Won't you join him?

01.13.10

DIESEL Bookseller Sean Mix Reviews Neon Vernacular

 

 

Sean Mix of DIESEL, A Bookstore in Oakland reviews Yusef Komunyakaa's "Neon Vernacular" by the fireplace. Won't you join him?

12.28.09

Books Will Never Die

As 2009 expires and we anticipate 2010, it is important as a book-loving community to take stock and appreciate what we have. As technology advances and book formats change, it is important to remember that physical books - tactile, musty, dog-eared and weathered - will always remain, as will the vital role they serve in our culture.

The current issue of The Wilson Quarterly, which has several articles on the future of books, and Robert Darnton's The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future are good resources if you're in need of a reminder that books will always be around.

 

-- Image via The Wilson Quarterly article "In the Beginning Was the Word" by Christine Rosen, captioned "Intrepid readers browse the charred Holland House Library after a London air raid in 1940."

 

 

12.07.09

University of Glasgow's Book of the Month

Book of the Month is a feature that the University of Glasgow Library has been running for over a decade now. The format is simple, a single book is selected from their collections, written up and accompanied by pictures, maps and photographs scanned from the books. With over a 100 books to select from, it's hard to know where to start, but anywhere is good because they're all lovely. Still, here are a few standouts: Charles Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Treatises on Engines and Weapons, and The Curious Case of Mary Toft.

 

 

11.10.09

A Holistic Approach to Bookselling Yields Satisfying Results

From Wendy Werris' 11.09.09 article in Publishers Weekly:

 

Diesel’s bookselling philosophy, which aims to be casual and professional at the same time, is holistic. “We wanted to create a work environment that’s mentally healthy,” says Evans, “a collaborative effort where people are paid decent wages, have a health plan and can radiate into the community. We ask each employee to bring their whole self to work.” Without the constraints of a traditional workplace pecking order, and with just a few exceptions, Diesel’s 20 employees all multitask and participate in receiving, returns, shelving, and customer service. Eventually everyone takes their turn at being manager of one of the stores. Adds Evans, “Our customers are a part of the stores, too. Whether they’re hyper-literate or trying to be literate, they can stand around together and tell the other a joke.”

 

-- Read the full article.