Melville House Books

Michael Jackson in the Melville House section of a local indie

Not too long ago, when Doug Dutton was still running Dutton’s Bookstore and was still the king of Los Angeles’ indie bookstore scene, he was at a dinner with people from other area bookstores including Book Soup and Skylight. ”Someone mentioned that Michael Jackson had been in their store. And everybody said he’d shopped in their store too.”

Jackson was, as it turns out, a regular at many LA many bookstores, reports Carolyn Kellogg in a story for the Los Angeles Times. Someone from the art and architecture bookstore Hennessey + Ingalls tells her, “He was a longtime and valued customer. We’ll miss him.” Doug Dutton’s brother Dave Dutton, who also had his own LA bookstore, tells Kellogg that typically, Jackson’s assistant would call and ask if they minded closing the store a little early so he could shop in peace. He says, ”Once you got over the initial caution because of those burly guys with him, he was very nice.” And Doug Dutton says he always bought at least four or five books.

At MobyLives, we’re inclined to believe these reports, especially since, over the weekend, someone sent us a photo of Jackson in the Melville House section of a bookstore (there’s a sign of our logo and a display of our Art of the Novella series over his shoulder) that we suspect may be Book Soup … but we’re not sure, and the photo came with no identification. Los Angelenos, if you recognize the store, let us know.

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.