The tagline of the bookstore is, "Fostering ideas that build community"

Self-help Books for the Community

by Mike Green

There’s a place on the North Side of Chicago known by the owner and a few select friends as the “Transcendental Vortex.” It’s a place where ideas are shared equally and challenged, promoting a forum of discussion and open thought.

It is only one room with two love-seat couches, a desk and shelves covering every inch of the wall. A dog named Cocoa is always present too.

Arlene Levy, 50, opened Left of Center Bookstore in February 2004. Located at 1043 W. Granville Ave., the store is at the intersection of the Edgewater and Rogers Park neighborhoods.

“I wanted a neighborhood that has a history of left-leaning thinking,” Levy said. “I live in this neighborhood and like this neighborhood a lot.”

The tagline of the bookstore is, “Fostering ideas that build community,” which has been Levy’s running goal. The store features discussions and events, with speakers ranging from short story writers to political thinkers talking on the privatization of schools.

“What is crucially important is the exchange of ideas,” Levy said. “People can’t just discuss things anymore. Radio talk shows have people screaming at each other, and even ‘academia’ are afraid of new ideas.”

Left of Center is independent, which makes it much more expensive to carry the often marginalized books the store promotes. Chains like Borders and Barnes and Noble can afford to carry books that sell maybe once or twice a year.

“The books sit but I feel it’s important that the book is still on the shelf because of what I’m trying to expose people to,” Levy said. “It shows a certain breadth of investigation.”

There is a great variety in the store. Politics, philosophy, social and cultural theory — with a progressive focus — are all under the non-fiction section, so customers may notice a book that they would never notice before, since the book would be in a section they wouldn’t normally browse in a general bookstore.

The fiction section holds notable new releases, classics, experimental fiction and literature-in-translation.

“Literature can be the best self-help books,” Levy said. “All authors write about the same topics — love, war, death, family — but it’s how the book is written that tells us about culture and how people think.”

Levy, a painter on the side, has a personal relationship with her customers.

“My selection is very personalized, both to the customers that I have, and what I personally think is worthwhile,” she said.

Jen Vera, a student of Loyola University, is a frequent patron of Left of Center Bookstore.

“(Levy) is extremely informative about all of her books and has very eccentric and broad interests that make the shopping experience there quite interesting,” Vera said.

“Left of Center inspires a lot of people, including myself, and gives the community hope by providing books that prove that some people still care about informing the public about the truth in a political climate that emphasizes public ignorance,” Vera said.

Levy is aware that her selection produces an open dialogue and a hopeful community.

“Perhaps I am a little dictatorial about what I sell,” she said. “Ultimately I hope that I carry books that are more geared to help people make their own decisions.”