Scottsdale + books: A love affair

Feb. 12—Other than breathing, there are few human activities as solitary — and nourishing, many will tell you — as reading.

"Outside of a dog," Groucho Marx once said, "a book is man's best friend."

("Inside of a dog," he added with a cigar munch, "it's too dark to read.")

While cozying up to a good book is hard to beat, some around Scottsdale will celebrate Valentine's Day cozying up to a soulmate hooked by similar literary interests.

Others who are looking for love — outside of their lifelong adoration of books — will be attending a romance-themed book event or two in the coming week.

If you love books, you probably swoon over Poisoned Pen and Alcuin Books, the page-turner and the scholar who bookend (so to speak) Old Town, Hammett on one end, Thoreau on the other.

One is decidedly highbrow, filled with intoxicatingly musty first editions and rare novels, plays, poetry and historical collections.

While hardly as tony as Alcuin Books, which brings a quiet dignity to tourist-oriented Scottsdale Road and Fifth Avenue, the Poisoned Pen Bookstore — on Goldwater Boulevard, a bookmark sail from Main Street's gallery row — marries literature and fun.

Speaking of literary matches ....

"We have seen a definite increase in couples meeting for dates at the Poisoned Pen over the last year," John Charles, who manages the romance section for the beloved bookstore.

"It can be quite sweet to see them share their favorite titles with each other as they browse the shelves and bond over books."

The very name might shock some romantics, but the Poisoned Pen is a love nest for couples with a wry sense of humor and noirish sense of romance — like the couple who met here, then later staged their engagement photos at the double P.

The Poisoned Pen, 4014 N. Goldwater Blvd., hosts a Valentines Day event at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14.

Champagne and chocolates will be served at the double-author event, co-anchored by romance novelist Susan Elizabeth Phillips ("Simply the Best") and local author Jenn McKinlay.

How linked are books and love in McKinlay's life?

Before launching her writing career, she worked in a public library — where a patron asked a question about a particular book. Some time later, that same patron asked McKinlay another question, to which she responded: "Yes — I'll marry you!"

Real-life literary romances in Scottsdale hardly surprise the likes of Charles.

He worked for the Scottsdale Public Library system prior to coming to the Poisoned Pen.

"We did get a number of couples on what we took to be dates at the library," Charles said. "Perhaps it was because the library offered them an intellectual yet cheap alternative to other venues."

Some couples meet over romance books, others find a shared passion for mystery leads to a passion for each other.

All sorts of fiction and nonfiction categories can be the paste cementing two souls.

"It isn't the literary genre that proves to be a catalyst for romance," Charles pondered, "but rather the whole bookish atmosphere that seems to be the draw."

Bill Smith, another Poisoned Pen manager, noted the store sponsors various book clubs, which are "almost like a blind date every month."

Erudite Alcuin

Where the Poisoned Pen has a warming sense of humor bordering on the campy, the grand Alcuin Books — named after an eighth century Anglo-Latin poet, educator and cleric — is more than a bit Frosty (Signed "Collected Poems of Robert Frost," $3,750).

While the margarita-fueled party bikers howl by on Scottsdale Road and Fifth Avenue, you'll find no whooping revelers, here.

Rather, Alcuin Books has an almost church-like feel, as literary supplicants quietly peruse a staggering selection of scholarly, rare and antiquarian books.

Author readings? Sorry, most of Alcuin's roster of writers long ago traded in typewriters for headstones.

Quirky events?

No, thank you.

Just books, books and more books, at Alcuin, where prices range from a nice Kipling edition for $25 up to an eight-volume Shakespeare collection artfully crafted — "Books are bound in green cloth lettered and decorated in a black floral design with gilt lettering, reproduced on spines" — in 1899, selling for $1,500.

Looking for an even older book, say a first edition (published by Ticknor and Fields in 1854) "Walden or Life in the Woods" by Henry David Thoreau?

That will be $7,500, please.

Richard Murian is the owner of Alcuin Books, which, since you asked "is a member of the ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America).

Members are only admitted after being vetted by top booksellers and showing a minimum of 10 years in dealing with rare and unusual books."

After opening a book shop in Phoenix in 1991, Murian came to Scottsdale a dozen years later, and has been sharing these slices of literary history in Old Town since

"Our view is, if you're serious about books, we have the kind of books you want," the soft-spoken Murian said.

Though his patrons may share his outward stoicism, many hearts skip beats and neurons shoot off like fireworks before the leather-bound gems.

"I'd say passion is a good word" for his shoppers, Murian mused.

"There's two levels," he continued. "One is a passion for collecting."

For those folks, who view old books as investments, Murian tips his cap.

"And I love people who have a passion to own a book — simply because they want to read it," he added.

"A well-chosen book will open up one's mind in a way nothing else will," the 86-year-old bookman said.

Richard Murian is a scholar, but hardly a soulless one.

"I fell in love with books as a small boy," he recalled with a chuckle. "As a small boy, I read Walt Disney books with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck kicking the ass of Hitler and Mussolini."

Library love

It's fitting that this month's Caught Read-Handed Book Discussion group at the Civic Center Library meets at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14.

The Valentine's Day discussion will dive into Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith."

Most known for his gripping, adventure stories, Krakauer here meticulously describes how 40,000 Mormon fundamentalists have so much love in their hearts — they practice polygamy.

Those browsing through the Civic Center Library this month will be met with an explosion of bright artwork.

The juried exhibit is called "Colorlove."

That's quite appropriate, as many around Scottsdale have nothing but love for the city's libraries.

At the Jan. 17 Library Board meeting, Melissa Orr, the interim director, noted Scottsdale public libraries had more than a half-million visits in 2023.

Orr also shared recent comments from patrons, including praise for staff members at various branches.

"What would we do without the library?" one patron pondered. "It is vital for children from toddlers on up, and a true sanctuary."

Another noted browsing among books is "my treat to myself," concluding with a proclamation many around this city share:

"I just love this library!"