Like many of you, I was shocked and deeply saddened by the announcement that Dutton's Brentwood Books will close its doors on April 30, 2008.  I think of Doug and Dutton's as the heart and soul of literary Los Angeles and can't quite imagine the book world without them.  Back in 1997, when I had the half-brained idea of quitting my law firm and opening a bookstore (what! are you NUTS!!), I went to talk to Doug about the idea.  Like every other person I spoke to, he tried to talk me out of it, but after seeing my determination, he gave me some solid advice and sent me off in the right direction to educate myself and figure out how to actually try to pull this off.

In 2007 we reached our 10th anniversary, a HUGE landmark for any small business.  We celebrated by creating a float for the annual 4th of July parade - the Hogwart's Express from the Harry Potter novels.  We all enjoyed  celebrating our place in the community by taking part in that amazing community event.