The bookstore you mention in the triangle block sounds like Starr; a few years ago they were told by the Harvard Lampoon, which owns the entire building, that their lease would not be renewed and they chose to close down. A cousin, Norm Starr, had a used bookstore on the other side of Harvard Square, on Mass. Ave going toward Arlington, which he closed down at about the same time.

Howard Feldstein, owner of Arlington Books (which moved from Arlington to a store on the back of Beacon Hill a few years ago) opened a store in the Square, over near the Charles Hotel, for a short time, but it is closed now also. Harvard Square-area rents are just too high for general used bookstores, although the specialty and high-end shops are hanging in.

Rodney's, in Central Square, is bursting at the seams and the owner has opened a second location in Coolidge Corner. There is also a new small shop, run by a retired professor from Vermont, on Mass. Ave about halfway between Harvard Square and Central Square; he does not have much space, but has a nice selection of lower-priced hardcovers in good non-fiction subjects.