When the store closed, Christopher was given its inventory and he leased the garage, which had previously been occupied by a paint store, a newspaper distribution center and a restaurant supply storage space. In 2005, he ended up back in Carlsbad working for a professor friend at his failing San Diego bookstore. His goal was to become a college professor, but his life took a different turn. After two more years traveling the U.S., he moved to San Francisco to work as a writer and study English literature and history at San Francisco State. But when he found a greater passion in learning and books, he ceremonially burned his skating gear and moved to Europe at age 18 for three years of exploration. Growing up in Carlsbad, Christopher was better known in his mid-teens as a professional skateboarder. Launched on Tuesday, the crowdfunding account has raised $955 of a $5,000 goal. Muehlhausen helped Christopher set up a Gofundme account, (, “Protect LhooqBooks”) which Christopher plans to use on attorney fees to fight the eviction. Sure, he’s there to make a little money, but that’s secondary to what the vibe of the place is as a community spot where people can gather with like-minded individuals and build a community,” Muehlhausen said. “Here’s somebody trying to do something good in the community for kids who can’t afford new books and young people who want to discover something they’ve never seen before. When Christopher arrived, he cleaned up the area and he invited the community in, said Muehlhausen, a veteran designer, musician and longtime collaborator of famed local skater Tony Hawk. The band moved out when a street thug used an ax to break down the wall and steal all their instruments. Back then, the building and adjoining house were in derelict condition and the neighborhood was known as unsafe. Back in the 1990s, Muehlhausen was in a band that used the old garage as a place to practice their music. It’s been written up in The New York Times, the “Hidden San Diego” website and in a local arts crawl guide.īecause Lhooq Books is a part of Carlsbad that’s rapidly disappearing, longtime local resident Jaimie Muehlhausen pitched in this past week to help Christopher try to rescue the property. The hidden gem quality of Lhooq Books - which Christopher named after “L.H.O.O.Q.,” a tongue-in-cheek 1919 artwork by Marcel Duchamp - has made it a darling with travel writers and bloggers. The alley-facing west wall of the center is decorated with a large colorful mural by local skater-artist Kris Markovich. On the fenced patio, there’s are tables and chairs where visitors can order a cappucino and watch movies or attend book readings, lectures, concerts, dance performances and writing workshops. I carry the books that Oscar Wilde was reading when he became who he was.” “My goal is to help people understand what they’re reading. They’re either classics or they came highly recommended,” he said. It may seem a random mix, but Christopher says it’s not. There are shelves devoted to literature, beat poetry, philosophy, religion, poetry, war, fiction and biographies and books by Ayn Rand, Henry Miller, Dostoevsky, Steinbeck and even Stephen King, among many others. Inside, thousands of rare, vintage and new books line floor-to-ceiling shelves decorated here and there with found art, globes, statuary, antique typewriters, a fish tank and chess sets. The front outdoor wall of the converted garage is lined with hundreds of books that community members are welcome to borrow or pay what they can to buy. Lhooq Books - located in an alley between Garden Stage Bagels and the Taco Bell/KFC restaurant near Madison Street - has the oddball, grassroots vibe of something you’d find in San Francisco or Berkeley. I need time to relocate or do a massive sale so I can get out by the skin of my teeth at the very least.” “I’m just asking for mediation where we can sit down and I can get a reasonable deal. “I’m trying to protect my livelihood and my son’s emotional security,” Christopher said.
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