24B - The Michigan Daily Best ofnn Arbor 1998 Thursday, April 16, 1998 0 0 The michiganBaily Bust (YFAnn Atbrrd9l9O Best of Books Best of Business Area businesses offer excel Shaman Drum, Borders vie for top spots in this year's literary categories Best Bookstore: Shaman Drum Bookshop Shaman Drum, located at 313 S. State, is everything that a bookstore should be. It's open, friendly and there is always a great display of new books for those times when you have the lux- ury of not knowing exactly what you want. The staff members are knowl- edgeable and always willing to order something if they don't have it in stock. And best of all, they're independent. Best Used Bookstore: Dawn Treader Once again (for the second year), Dawn Treader, at 514 E. Liberty, deserves recognition for its amazing selection, comfortable atmosphere and a staff that seems to actually care about the books they sell. If you need it, they have it, and it will be reasonably priced ... unless you're one of those strange people who doesn't like used books. Best Location for Readings: Borders Books and Music It's large enough to hold a crowd, and set up so you can wander through the travel books while you're waiting. Unfortunately, Borders, at 612 E. Liberty, hasn't been able to take full advantage of the location in the past year. Which brings me to ... Location with the Best Readings: Shaman Drum Bookshop Often the authors who visit are up- and-coming, but their readings are fre- quent (several times a week) and always worth the time. Shaman Drum has a wide variety of events for every taste. Best Place to Browse: Borders Books and Music . There are tons of comfortable places to sit, and nobody pesters you to make a purchase if you sit and read for more than five minutes. There is an amazing magazine section. and it's open late enough to spend several hours looking without ever feeling rushed. Best Student Literary Event: State Street Poetry Project Although the November reading, on the night of the Ohio State football game, could be considered ill-timed, it presented several of the best student writers on campus. Thankfully, this seems to be evolving into a regular University event. Best CDs: Tower Records If you want to put all the smaller cooler independent record stores out of business, Tower, located on South University, is a great place to start. Best Used Records: Wazoo This store on State Street carries a wide selection of other people's CDs for a good price. Best Men's Clothing: Bivouac It's the place to find the wardrobe of the conformist. Every college man can buy his Polos, hiking boots and khakis here, on State Street. Best Women's Clothing: Urban Outfitters Stocked with tank tops and skirts with Indian designs for the Gwen Stefani wannabes. The former ground floor of the State Theater, this State Street apparel stores cotton cardigans and colored nail polish go great with the cute little T-shirts. Everyone can go in and come out taller with new, two- inch platforms. Best Thrift/Used Clothing: Rag-O-Rama An abnormally large and well-orga- nized thrift store on East Liberty with many good finds. Unfortunately, it's going out of business, so it couldn't have been that good. Best Shoe Store: Footprints Any place on East Liberty that car- ries Converse and Birkenstocks as well a r t .1 ii i:: OR Courtesy ot vintage 'U' alumnus Richard Ford visited the University again in March. A N N A R D O R th 52 off eof -... ......-- ...... .....--- ......... --J L -b- R tedO Ofl ofte bs record stores in the co untoY loated right here d ~nArbor... - downtoWn An A Proud member of the coalition of independent music stores. gUE g MUSIC STORES A NN A R O R 994-8031 523 E. Liberty in the Michigan Theater Building Open 10-9:30pm Mon - Thu 10-l0:O0pm Fri - Sat 12-8:00pm Sun www.schoolkids.com email: schoolkids.com Central Campus' Full Service G rocery "Best Liquor/Party Store" 1990-1991-1992-1993 1994-1995-1996-1997 The Michigan Daily "Best of Ann Arbor" Poll 4000 Wines " 600 Spirits 200 Beers & Ales " 300 Cigars Full line of Groceries Fresh Produce, Meat & Dairy " Ice Cream & Frozen Foods Bottled Waters, Juices & Pop " School & Household supplies Magazines & Comics & Lots More Serving Ann Arbor Since 1970 VILLAGE CORNER Corner of S. University & S. Forest 995-1818 Daily 8am-lam * Fri/Sat 8am-2am Courtesy of Vintage Offbeat author Mark Leyner visited Ann Arbor to read from his latest novel. Most Unusual Student Literary Event: State Street Poetry Project Concert This was hard to classify as either a musical event or a literary event; the poets were often difficult to under- stand or drowned out by the back; ground noise in the Michigan League, but with better organization this sort of performance has real potential. Best University-Affiliated Author: Jonis Agee This English professor's novel, "South of Resurrection," tells a laid- back story about a small-town lifestyle. It's a wonderful book to curl up with, or to hear at a reading by Agee. Best Ann Arbor Author: Laura Kasischke "Suspicious River," Kasischke's first novel, is a book about choices: specifically:*it is about the choice to be a prostitute. Hopwood winner Kasischke has been here for a while, and we can claim her as one of Ann Arbor's finest. Funniest Reading: Mark Leyner Leyner, the author of "I Smell Esther Williams," "My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist," "Tooth Imprints on a Corn Dog" and "The Tetherballs of Bougainville,' read at Borders last October. In an interview, Leyner said, "My great-grandchildren will know that their great-grandfather wrote probably the first and only tetherball novel." That is definitely something to be recognized. SCI 203 E. Liberty Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 NATHAN HUEH/Daily Borders Books and Music is always a popular place for shoppers. I 1A er