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By 8, I’m at the store which is in one of the safely “un”gentrified corners of town - in short, it’s tucked into a grimy little side street. This is where I work! The official name of the store since my boss took it over in the ‘90s is The Last Word Book Shop, but the original owners were some unimaginative types who dubbed the place just “Book Shop.” I like to joke with Li that they should have just called it “Place That Offers Printed Material For Purchase.”

Li is the owner of The Last Word and he...takes some explaining. I don’t know his birth name but, at some point in the past, he legally had his name changed to Li Fong Macbeth. He’s unbelievably well-read and, though bookstores in general are a dying breed, he makes no efforts to jazz the place up, or create an online presence, or even put much stock into current hot authors. Instead, his inventory is culled from various private collections and obscure library finds. That said, he does have a shelf devoted to “The Greatest Novelist of the 20th Century” which is nothing but the complete works of Jacqueline Susann.

Did I mention my favorite thing about Li? On the weekends, he’s a drag performer! Seriously, he owns even more wigs than Ree. His stage persona is “The Lady M” and he’s amazing!

Description

By 8, I’m at the store which is in one of the safely “un”gentrified corners of town - in short, it’s tucked into a grimy little side street. This is where I work! The official name of the store since my boss took it over in the ‘90s is The Last Word Book Shop, but the original owners were some unimaginative types who dubbed the place just “Book Shop.” I like to joke with Li that they should have just called it “Place That Offers Printed Material For Purchase.”

Li is the owner of The Last Word and he...takes some explaining. I don’t know his birth name but, at some point in the past, he legally had his name changed to Li Fong Macbeth. He’s unbelievably well-read and, though bookstores in general are a dying breed, he makes no efforts to jazz the place up, or create an online presence, or even put much stock into current hot authors. Instead, his inventory is culled from various private collections and obscure library finds. That said, he does have a shelf devoted to “The Greatest Novelist of the 20th Century” which is nothing but the complete works of Jacqueline Susann.

Did I mention my favorite thing about Li? On the weekends, he’s a drag performer! Seriously, he owns even more wigs than Ree. His stage persona is “The Lady M” and he’s amazing!