OMG They Have Books Here, Becky

?a living, historically rooted literary scene that, though it has surely heard the news of its own demise, isn’t buying it. The New York Times visits San Francisco, and like a visitor from another time/space continuum is amazed at the anachronistic wonder of printed words here in the birthplace of the Internet. They stumble upon a strange ritual called Litquake by the locals, and invokes The Beats. Also that our literary scene is appears to be less shark-infested than New York's but has more pirate stores. Includes a guide to some of the secret specialist bookstores around, although the author inexplicably omits William Stout Architectural Books. [NYTimes]