A while back, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a terrific profile of Allison Reid and John Evans, owners of Diesel Books in Oakland and Malibu. Ilana DeBare’s story looks at what it takes to survive these days as an indy bookseller, and the piece is such a good read (informative, too) that it’s worth sharing a little late.

Today, with stores in both Southern and Northern California, Reid and Evans spend a lot of time traveling between neighborhoods. They usually drive back and forth. Not only is it cheaper than flying, but they can lug boxes of books with them.

Even with savvy inventory management, lean staff and two supportive neighborhoods, Reid and Evans are not making much money or paying the wages they initially envisioned. But there’s no other work they’d rather be doing.

“The hours are sort of astronomical. There’s no end to it,” Evans said. “But when we were opening the store, we had an understanding that neither of us look at work as separate from life.”

Keep reading here.

Diesel, part II. From LA Weekly: “Do people in Malibu even read?” a customer at Diesel Oakland asked Evans one day. “You know,” Evans said with a chuckle, “that’s funny, because they ask the same thing about you guys. Only they’re more polite about it.”