Cyrano's Bookshop was born in 1978 at an altitude of nearly
4,000 feet in the lovely little mountain resort village of
Highlands, North Carolina, the second highest incorporated
town east of the Rockies. It remains one of just over 3,300
independent book stores in America that specialize in
customer service. When you ask for Catcher in the Rye at
Cyrano's, you won't be directed to the sports section. U.S.
Ambassador Jack Perry, while on home leave from
Bulgaria, described the book selection at Cyrano’s as
follows:
4,000 feet in the lovely little mountain resort village of
Highlands, North Carolina, the second highest incorporated
town east of the Rockies. It remains one of just over 3,300
independent book stores in America that specialize in
customer service. When you ask for Catcher in the Rye at
Cyrano's, you won't be directed to the sports section. U.S.
Ambassador Jack Perry, while on home leave from
Bulgaria, described the book selection at Cyrano’s as
follows:
My wife and I walked into this cool bookstore from the
hot July sunshine and felt immediately at home,
unhurried, ready to browse at leisure. Not a huge
number of customers, and no clerk to bother us until we
wanted help. Not a vast number of books, but a
satisfactory selection, picked with taste and care, just
right for restorative browsing. Books arranged where one
could inspect them thoughtfully. Sections done logically,
with a civilized mixture of shallow and deep, old and new,
hard and soft, known and unfamiliar. Books obviously
selected by someone with literary taste, not by a
computer. A generous selection of good poetry. Lots of
classics. Enough idiosyncratic books to perk one's
interest. A sprinkling of volumes not seen at every other
shop. A paucity of gaudiness. A real bookstore, for real
book lovers.
Naturally we spent far too much time browsing, but we
found many good books and bought quite a few. The
proprietor, friendly in a gentle way, not pushing anything,
joked that we had bought some of his best offerings.
Among our purchases was Scott A. Berg's Max Perkins,
and the proprietor said that he had read this biography
of the great Scribner's editor with particular pleasure.
Then he took the time to relate to us a couple of Berg's
anecdotes dealing with Thomas Wolfe (from North
Carolina) and Asheville (not far up the road from
Highlands). It was a comfortable moment. I felt as if I
were in the right place, in that little bookstore, and that
the future of American literature had to be all right. I felt
that my literary friends from Sofia, or Prague, or Moscow,
those book lovers deprived of the freedom of choice,
would weep with joy at this lovely little store. I felt that
this, indeed, had something to do with an attempt at
defining the good life.
[American Scholar, Winter 1985/86]
hot July sunshine and felt immediately at home,
unhurried, ready to browse at leisure. Not a huge
number of customers, and no clerk to bother us until we
wanted help. Not a vast number of books, but a
satisfactory selection, picked with taste and care, just
right for restorative browsing. Books arranged where one
could inspect them thoughtfully. Sections done logically,
with a civilized mixture of shallow and deep, old and new,
hard and soft, known and unfamiliar. Books obviously
selected by someone with literary taste, not by a
computer. A generous selection of good poetry. Lots of
classics. Enough idiosyncratic books to perk one's
interest. A sprinkling of volumes not seen at every other
shop. A paucity of gaudiness. A real bookstore, for real
book lovers.
Naturally we spent far too much time browsing, but we
found many good books and bought quite a few. The
proprietor, friendly in a gentle way, not pushing anything,
joked that we had bought some of his best offerings.
Among our purchases was Scott A. Berg's Max Perkins,
and the proprietor said that he had read this biography
of the great Scribner's editor with particular pleasure.
Then he took the time to relate to us a couple of Berg's
anecdotes dealing with Thomas Wolfe (from North
Carolina) and Asheville (not far up the road from
Highlands). It was a comfortable moment. I felt as if I
were in the right place, in that little bookstore, and that
the future of American literature had to be all right. I felt
that my literary friends from Sofia, or Prague, or Moscow,
those book lovers deprived of the freedom of choice,
would weep with joy at this lovely little store. I felt that
this, indeed, had something to do with an attempt at
defining the good life.
[American Scholar, Winter 1985/86]
Our categories, intentionally general and diverse,
include fiction, history, biography, science, religion,
philosophy, occult, psychology, mystery, suspense,
sports, cooking, gardening, music, art,
architecture, antiques, health, diet, family, nature,
regional, science fiction, fantasy, humor, the
classics, drama, poetry, and books for young
people from infant through teenager.
A third of our business derives from special orders
for customers who live out of state and can't find
what they're seeking elsewhere. They know that, if
it exists, we'll find it for them. Our motto has always
been "Don't forget us, because we won't forget
you, even if it takes four years to find your book!"
include fiction, history, biography, science, religion,
philosophy, occult, psychology, mystery, suspense,
sports, cooking, gardening, music, art,
architecture, antiques, health, diet, family, nature,
regional, science fiction, fantasy, humor, the
classics, drama, poetry, and books for young
people from infant through teenager.
A third of our business derives from special orders
for customers who live out of state and can't find
what they're seeking elsewhere. They know that, if
it exists, we'll find it for them. Our motto has always
been "Don't forget us, because we won't forget
you, even if it takes four years to find your book!"
Feel free to contact us anytime for more
information about our services by calling
(828) 526-5488, faxing (828) 526-4483, or
e-mailing cyranos@nctv.com.
information about our services by calling
(828) 526-5488, faxing (828) 526-4483, or
e-mailing cyranos@nctv.com.
Cyrano's carries as wide a selection of books
as space permits. We try to focus on what's
best and lasting in each category of books we
stock. With 1.6 million books in print, we can't
carry them all in our little 700 square feet, so
we have to be very selective. Actually this
gives us an advantage. Customers return
because we prune out most of what they don't
want anyway. What's left is what they can't
seem to stop buying.
as space permits. We try to focus on what's
best and lasting in each category of books we
stock. With 1.6 million books in print, we can't
carry them all in our little 700 square feet, so
we have to be very selective. Actually this
gives us an advantage. Customers return
because we prune out most of what they don't
want anyway. What's left is what they can't
seem to stop buying.
Our Stock
directions
children's books
Scapbook
Tributes to Cyrano's
PDF on us
PDF on
Highlands
Highlands
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