Time Being Books
“Art-centered. Eclectic. Experimental.”
What’s the story of your store’s origin?
In 2023, Time Being Books originated as a reference library and independent creative practice bookstore. Curating books from her personal collection, Addie opened shop in a small studio connected to the Bolm Arts building––a haven for artists, gallerists, and other creatives seeking access to affordable space for experimentation.
Originally open by appointment and happenstance, guests would visit and often spend hours looking through the collection, taking photos and making scans of pages and spreads containing details for use in their own creative/discovery process, which the owner welcomed. While an appointment-only bookstore was a strange concept to some, the individuals drawn to us were people that really enjoyed getting lost in discovery, and loved the thrill of the hunt as it relates to book collecting and sourcing unique art objects. Our guests typically came from creative fields, or were themselves working artists that collect books as part of their research process, or as a form of expression.
The store, which moved to a new location in June 2024, is still based in the Govalle neighborhood of East Austin. The collection of secondhand books is now accessible to walk-ins, through Time Being’s studio situated within the yard of Mass Gallery, and remains a place for chance encounters––with reference material intended to conjure notions, discover insight, and prompt ideas.
What makes your store special?
Time Being is an artist-run bookstore based in East Austin. We offer a curated selection of secondhand books, specializing in unique reference materials, eclectic monographs, and rare and out of print art books.
Our greater purpose as an independent bookstore is to preserve the practice of analog discovery. Here you’re bound to find random inspiration in books and ephemera spanning genres, with an emphasis on content concerning art, nature, and the avant-garde.
Time Being Books is a project for material exploration. The aim is to create an inspiring atmosphere where you can discover new lives in old things. Though our collection features both rare & out of print books, you'll always be able to find handpicked titles, and other unexpected items priced as low as $5.
What are a few of your store’s favorite books from the past year?
A 1966 edition of Bruno Munari’s “Discovery of the Circle”. A visual case study on the shape, which discusses the symbolic meaning and representations of circles in various contexts including nature, art, religion and more.
“A Handbook of Old Pottery & Porcelain Marks” from 1947 by C. Jordan Thorn. A wonderful reference work on the marks, signatures and monograms of antique pottery from around the world.
“War and Cinema: The Logistics of Perception” by Paul Virilio, 1989 was a key title from a reading list curated by artist Sean Ripple for Time Being Books in anticipation of their exhibition, portkeys and eyeskips, hosted at the bookstore during the East Austin Studio Tour. The artist’s personal/used copy went up for sale as an altered annotated book which includes highlighting, marginalia, paper fragments and a Tinyurl inscription tethering to an original digital work which attends to ideas found within the texts.
The Alternative: Communal Life in New America. A photo essay by Dennis Stock & William Hedgepath, 1970.
Vector Synthesis: A Media Archaeological Investigation into Sound-Modulated Light by artist Derek Holzer, 2019. Derek Holzer is an audiovisual artist, researcher, and electronic instrument creator based in Stockholm.
A first edition of, “Moving Through The Universe in Bare Feet: Ten Circle Dances for Everybody” by Deborah Hay, 1975. Her first book of choreographic recording, emphasizing conceptual art narratives underlining the minimal choreographic process of her dances.