Daedalus Books (Virginia)

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Daedalus Books (Virginia) - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 38°01′51″N 78°28′44″W / 38.0308°N 78.4790°W

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38°01′51″N 78°28′44″W / 38.0308°N 78.4790°W / 38.0308; -78.4790

Daedalus Books

Industry	Bookseller
Founded	1975 (1975)^[1]
Founder	Sandy McAdams^[1]
Headquarters	Charlottesville, Virginia , United States
Area served	Charlottesville, Virginia metropolitan area
Products	Used book
Owner	Jackson Landers^[2]

Daedalus Books is a used bookstore based in the Downtown Mall of Charlottesville, Virginia.^[1] It was established in 1975.^[1] It contains more than 100,000 books and is a quirky institution in the city.^[3] A reviewer for The Washington Post called described Daedalus as the best bookstore south of the Strand Bookstore in Greenwich Village.^[4]

Description

The bookstore has been in the same location for more than 50 years, and its building is more than 100 years old.^[3] It keeps more than 100,000 books.^[3] The store issues hand-written receipts.^[3] A long-time employee said that the store attracts freaks and weirdos as customers.^[3] The poetry room at Daedalus attracts particular attention.^[5] Poetry attractions include the death mask of John Keats.^[3]

Charlottesville's Downtown Mall is a destination for visiting bookstores including Daedalus.^[6]^[7] It is also part of a network of other unconventional Charlottesville business.^[3] Various reviewers list Daedalus among Charlottesville's top attractions.^[5]^[6] Reviewers describe the store as cozy,^[8] ^[9] a place to get lost,^[10] bewildering,^[7] and a three-story temple of secondhand literature.^[4] The name of the store refers to Daedalus because the bookshelves create a Labyrinth in which people become lost.^[3]^[2]

Author Rita Mae Brown said that Daedalus and McAdams delighted her.^[11] Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti said that his visit to Daedalus was an honor for him.^[7]

People

Sandy McAdams (1942-2024) established the store and managed it. One reviewer said that McAdams and the bookstore looked like each other.^[7] McAdams also started a restaurant near the bookstore, and is credited with developing Charlottesville's Downtown Mall as a place for food and browsing books.^[1] After owning the shop for 30 years, Sandy McAdams committed to only read novels in an effort to gain wisdom rather than read nonfiction and only learn facts.^[10] McAdams was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000 and managed the store while using a wheelchair from 2008.^[11]^[12] McAdams sold the shop in 2023 and passed away in 2024.^[11]

Jackson Landers purchased the bookstore from McAdams in 2023.^[2] McAdams wanted to pass the store to someone who could maintain it as a Charlottesville institution.^[2]^[3] Jackson himself is a journalist and author.^[2]

Further consideration

Allard, Terri (April 9, 2016). "Daedalus Bookshop". Charlottesville Inside-Out. Season 9. Charlottesville, Virginia: PBS. VPM Media Corporation. Retrieved January 6, 2024.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Garretson, Lawrence (August 26, 2015). "Hipster 1.0: The generation that created the Downtown Mall scene". C-Ville Weekly.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Spencer, Hawes (2 December 2023). "Inheriting the labyrinth: Daedalus Books under new ownership". The Daily Progress. Archived from the original on 6 January 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Hausman, Sandy (11 December 2024). "A makeover for Charlottesville's book mecca". WVTF. Virginia Tech.
^ ^a ^b Powell, Michael (September 1, 1999). "Charlottesville Education". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
^ ^a ^b Murray, Wistar Watts (June 23, 2009). "25 essential Charlottesville experiences for real locals". C-Ville Weekly.
^ ^a ^b Glass, Maggie (1 March 2024). "Independent bookstores celebrating milestones in downtown Charlottesville". 29news.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cedermark, Andrew (September 6, 2011). "The best American nonrequired buying". C-Ville Weekly.
^ Copenhaver, Beth (April 3, 2017). "Daedalus Bookshop Is An Incredible Labyrinth Bookstore In VA". OnlyInYourState. Archived from the original on January 6, 2025. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
^ Esselman, Mary (January 22, 2011). "Book bonanza: Take a ride on the reading". The Hook (newspaper). Archived from the original on July 22, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Great spots: 17 of Charlottesville's most intriguing places". C-Ville Weekly. September 21, 2016. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c Spencer, Hawes (25 December 2024). "C&O, Daedalus Books founder Sandy McAdams dies at 82". The Daily Progress. Archived from the original on 29 December 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
^ McKenzie, Bryan (15 March 2009). "Walking, so that others may too". The Daily Progress.

External links

DaedalusBooksCharlottesville on Instagram

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