With just days to go before it would have to close its doors forever, San Diego’s beloved science fiction bookstore Mysterious Galaxy has found a new location and new owners: Jenni Marchisotto and Matthew Berger have bought the store and will run it at its new home, 3555 Rosecrans St. Suite #107 San Diego, CA 92110.
Everyone’s keeping their jobs, too. It’s a Christmas miracle. I’m looking forward to having lots more events with them in the years to come!
From Jenni: The first books I ever loved, the ones I read over and over again until the bindings practically disintegrated, were The Song of the Lioness and The Immortals quartets by Tamora Pierce. I spent much of my childhood dreaming about having purple eyes and debating whether Alanna should have ended up Jonathan or George with my cousin Courtney. As an adult I still get carried away by reading. For my degree I focused on disability in 20th century Anglophone literature. I could talk about James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Shani Mootoo for hours. I’m also a sucker for romance and fantasy. Some of my favorites include Helen Hoang, Sarah J. Maas, J. R. Ward, Richelle Mead, and Jasmine Guillory. I’m currently reading Arora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik & Moving Forward Sideways Like a Crab by Shani Mootoo.From Matt: I have spent far too much time trying to figure out how to make a lightsaber work. Like, how do you get light to take a shape? Growing up, my days were filled with thoughts about the worlds authors built in my favorite series: Star Wars, Harry Potter, Feist’s Magician series, Eragon, and countless others. In college, I decided to think some more about books, so I studied literature, including Latin American authors such as Jorge Luis Borges and Ricardo Piglia, and classic authors like James Joyce and Franz Kafka. I’m always looking for a new world to stumble upon. I’m currently reading: Iron Gold by Pierce Brown & The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
We are both unbelievably thankful to Terry Gilman, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, and Jeff Mariotte, for creating a space welcoming science fiction and fantasy lovers of any age. They have given us, as the bookstore’s name suggests, countless galaxies to explore through reading. Ones that just happen to exist every time you open a book and are never farther away than the next page. We would also like to thank store manager Kelly Orazi, and the rest of the Mysterious Galaxy staff for their support through this transition. We know the expert team of booksellers is much of what makes Mysterious Galaxy special. The store wouldn’t be the same without them. They are always ready with the perfect recommendation for any customer. We wouldn’t want to embark on this journey with anyone else. *insert Lord of the Rings pun here*
Moving forward, we plan to uphold all that makes Mysterious Galaxy special. We respect and value the store’s reputation as an integral part of the literary community in San Diego. We hope that as we enter this new chapter, you will trust us to preserve that identity. We have always seen Mysterious Galaxy as a safe place for anyone interested in exploring new worlds and never want that to change.
New owners and location for Mysterious Galaxy in 2020 [Jenni Marchisotto & Matthew Berger/Mysterious Galaxy]