Diskovery

Amazing finds, punctuated by small disasters

by Leslie Robarge

"My place is a mess! I hope you don't mind it," says Yolanda Stratter in a soft but harried voice. The owner of Diskovery is on her knees stacking books. Throughout the room, pyramids of volumes -- some as tall as three feet -- restrict aisles already lined with full bookshelves. Every few minutes you hear the sound of some minor catastrophe: a stack of books topples, someone knocks over a pile of records with a backpack.

Diskovery, in all its disorganized splendor, is something of a mecca for Allston/Brighton's students, artists, and long-time residents. What makes it one of the best (and cheapest) used-book collections in the city is Stratter's business philosophy: keep the prices low and the inventory high. I must have seen five different editions of John Cheever's The Wapshot Chronicle in random places around the store, most under $5. Lying on top of John Updike's A Month of Sundays ($2) is a drugstore copy of an auto-care manual from 1995 ($2). For some, this disorganization can be maddening. For others, it's a relief from corporate tidiness.

Stratter must be doing something right. Her business has thrived in the changing neighborhood. She's watched other used-book stores close, replaced by secondhand stores selling donated goods; today she's one of the few merchants in the neighborhood who still buy and trade. There is no computer to keep inventory inside Diskovery. There's not even a cash register for this cash-only store -- when Stratter makes a sale, she just stuffs the bills in her pockets. But then again, Stratter doesn't really need to keep up with technology.

"We have everything. You just have to ask," she says.

Diskovery is located at 113 Brighton Avenue, in Allston. Call (617) 787-2640.