Mimsy Were the Borogoves

Book Reviews: From political histories to bad comics, to bad comics of political histories. And the occasional rant about fiction and writing.

St. Louis: Patten Books

Jerry Stratton, July 26, 2016

Patten Books: Storefront for Patten Books on 10202 Manchester Road in St. Louis.; bookstores; St. Louis

Patten Books is an unassuming storefront on Manchester; you might pass it while going to the mall or heading home from the office. Don’t.

The first time I went here, I walked out with a huge stack of old-school books from my rambling want-list. The second time I went here, I was on the way back from the Greater St. Louis Book Fair. The fair was pretty cool, but I had not found anything on my list. Feeling guilty adding so many books to my shelf without being able to check anything off, I stopped by Patten’s afterward and picked up Jack Vance’s The Eyes of the Overworld.

I knew I could count on them to have something on my list.

Looking at the list of books I’ve purchased here, they are all fantasy and science fiction, and Patten does have a great selection of SF&F. But they aren’t lacking in general fiction either, nor in non-fiction. If you only go to one bookstore in St. Louis, I’d have to recommend Patten Books. They have a great selection and great prices, and are just a nice, quiet, relaxing place to browse books.

Patten Books
10202 Manchester Road
St. Louis, Missouri

Jan. 7, 2017

Life, the Universe and Everything Douglas Adams $3.50 mass market paperback

April 29, 2016

The Eyes of the Overworld Jack Vance $3.50 mass market paperback

March 24, 2015

The Best of Fredric Brown Fredric Brown $3.00 mass market paperback
Hiero’s Journey Sterling E. Lanier $3.00 mass market paperback
The Warrior of World’s End Lin Carter $3.00 mass market paperback
The Broken Sword Poul Anderson $3.00 mass market paperback
The Shadow People Margaret St. Clair $3.00 mass market paperback
The High Crusade Poul Anderson $3.00 mass market paperback
The Blue Star Fletcher Pratt $3.50 mass market paperback
Strange Gods Roger Elwood $4.00 mass market paperback

In response to The bookstores less traveled: These aren’t the bookstores people travel across the country to visit. But if you’re already traveling across the country, you’ll want to take advantage of the opportunity to visit them.

  1. <- Denver bookstores
  2. Hillcrest’s Fifth Avenue ->