Readers' Choice: The Battery Wins Best Bookstore!

Ask co-owner Laurie Lai what she's reading, and she'll rattle off a list of about five or more books. 

There's Haruki Murakami's IQ84, Ann Patchett's State of Wonder, Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Lide of Oscar Wao and George R. Martin's Game of Thrones series—just to name a few of her current digests. 

"[I fill the store with] what I've read, the authors I like and things I know are classic—and some general interest authors. ... I try to mix it up," she says. 

It's a Tuesday around 5 p.m. There are a few toddlers playing—accompanied by their parents of course—occasionally peaking their heads outside the shop to see the train stop at the nearby Gold Line.

Plus, a few other regulars are strolling the isles of endless books piled high to the ceiling.

Andrea Russel, who Lai refers to as "family," is dropping off a new batch of clothes. Russel first discovered her favorite shop in South Pas when she and her husband "sort of popped in just by chance one day."

"Of course I voted," the Pasadena resident gushed after finding out her favorite South Pas store had won

Russel consigns clothing, jewelry and paintings at the store—but also usually leaves with about a dozen new books whenever she stops in The Battery.

"The prices everywhere are extraordinary," she says of other bookstores.

"And so these [at The Battery] are very reasonable. … I don’t often buy new books. I am able to find so many books here that I like."

Lai and her partner, Rich West, add new books to the store every day. Both graduates of they love the small town feel of South Pas. 

"We feel really comfortable here." said Lai. "All the things we want to do are here. ... And there are a lot of family-owned businesses."

Have you been to The Battery?  

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