Bookshop Memories — Full Circle Books, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Full Circle Books — Oklahoma City, OK
Full Circle Books is on the street level of the towering glass building at 50 Penn Place in Oklahoma City. 50 Penn Place is essentially a mall with a high-rise office tower added on top. It was a very high-end place to shop during the oil boom of the 1980s, but I believe there was some connection with a banking scandal not long after it opened. It was still nice in the early 2000s but perhaps no longer carried the clout the address once did. Full Circle is one of the few bookstores for new books I’ve included in this collection of essays. Bookstores dedicated to selling new books can feel cookie-cutter, sadly, without soul. Full Circle is simply better than nearly every other bookshop, including independent bookshops.
Despite, effectively, being in a mall filled with polished tile and dated chrome fixtures, this bookstore has a very charming atmosphere that feels apart. Antique shelves, rolling ladders, lots of wood, other vintage fixtures, worn rugs over hardwood floors, and plenty of comfortable seating. It all adds up to a welcome place in a bibliophile’s heart. The warm fireplaces, a cafe with wicker chairs, and strategically placed air-pots of complimentary house-blend coffee certainly don’t hurt either. At least, that’s how it was when I haunted this bookshop in the…
