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Brookline Booksmith

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279 Harvard St
Brookline, MA 02446
(617) 566-6660 https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/

Brookline Booksmith, located just outside of Boston in Coolidge Corner, originally opened in 1961 as Paperback Booksmith with the slogan “Dedicated to the fine art of browsing.” The store was one of the first bookstores on the East Coast to recognize that “serious” paperback books—a publishing phenomenon of the late 1950s—opened up the world of great literature to a mass audience. Prior to that, paperbacks mostly featured westerns and nurse stories and “serious” literature was only available in hardcover. Paperback Booksmith sold a diverse range of books—from great literature to naughty books, from books by and about the radical left to books by and about the radical right. The Booksmith was one of the first stores to display the books by category, rather than by publisher, and to organize its books alphabetically by author, encouraging customers to enjoy browsing on their own and at their leisure. Since its beginnings as Paperback Booksmith, Brookline Booksmith has continued to evolve, serving the people of Brookline and Boston.

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Did You Know?

Certain books were “banned in Boston” at least as far back as 1651, when one William Pynchon wrote a book criticizing Puritanism.