Walking through the narrow hallways into the labyrinth of rooms lined with bookshelves from floor to ceiling is like entering a lost mine with Indiana Jones. We have lots of nooks and crannies. Every passageway and closet is crammed with books. The separate buildings are noticeable from the outside, but inside the rows of books lead to more rows of books in an almost seamless fashion. Visiting the store in the Southhampton Place section of town north of Rice University has the feel of visiting a friend's library.
Soft music fills the air as the bright sunlight pours in through the windows.
Comfortable chairs are strategically placed to allow shoppers to sample the wares before they buy. The store specializes in the general literary humanities, Scoggins says. That means they carry books on just about anything. Upstairs they have a collection of beautiful, rare books that often run in the thousands of dollars for leather-bound books, first editions, and rare editions signed by the author. That is not to say that the prices at the Detering Book Gallery are out of reach of the common man and woman.