104. When You Think of Melrose,,,

...you probably don't think of bookstores, especially one that specializes in health, wellness, religion, spirituality and metaphysics.  Yet, smack dab across the street from a place which seems synonymous with Melrose, Kitson, is the Bodhi Tree Bookstore, 8585 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood.

The good news is this bookstore has the feel and look of an old-time bookstore.  It is clean and well organized with that intoxicating smell of seemingly a hundred different scents emanating from candles, incense and other such items.  The selection of books, recorded material, spiritual accessories and gift items is impressive.

The bad news is the founders have decided to retire and Bodhi Tree Bookstore will be closing in the fall of 2011.  So you have only a little over a year to enjoy this bookstore which has graced this Melrose Avenue location since July, 1970.

Unlike the mega bookstores of today like Borders and Barnes and Noble, Bodhi Tree Bookstore has no coffee bar.  No worries.  On the other end of the block is Urth Cafe to help fill that gap.

Bodhi Tree Bookstore also hosts many lectures and workshops...book signings too.

Bookstore hours are daily from 10 am to 11 pm.  In the building directly behind the Melrose building, which houses new items, is where their used bookstore is located.  The used bookstore hours are daily from 10 am to 7 pm.

And what about the Bodhi Tree?  In metaphysical lore, the Bodhi Tree is the "tree of enlightenment" under which Gautama sat in meditation before he achieved the state of grace that made him the Buddha.  In the photo above, the wood adornment is a stylized bodhi tree.  When the bookstore was first opened, the founders planted a bodhi tree and stuck it in the window.  Over the years the tree grew so large that it has now been replanted behind the store.  Considering what occurred for Gautama, who knows what may happen if you sit under the Bodhi Tree behind the bookstore.