Nevada Avenue Outdoor Free Bookshop

03/19/2026

Kim Coletta and the Proprietor are going to discuss the forthcoming Nevada Avenue Outdoor Free Bookshop newsletter compilation “More Punk Than The Public Library” at Politics & Prose on May 16 at 5:00 pm. In addition to being an NAOFB contributor, playing bass in Jawbox, and running DeSoto Records, Kim’s a teacher so you can be sure she’ll keep the conversation fun and punchy. We got a nice plug from Will Lennon in the City Paper’s Spring Arts Guide:

It was the peak of pandemic lockdown, and J. Hunter Bennett was out of Tiger King episodes to binge. Since there wasn’t much else to do while stuck inside his Chevy Chase home, Bennett started a free, no-returns-necessary library to distribute his old novels and music books to neighbors. The little library, which Bennett calls an “imaginary bookshop,” became an excuse to launch a companion newsletter, which eventually mutated into a zine. As Bennett invited area authors and musicians to contribute, the zine evolved into something unexpected, incorporating everything from neighborhood goings-on to book reviews and interviews with bands. More Punk Than the Public Library compiles the best of the zine into a readable digest. “The articles were written by my family, friends, and neighbors who were also bored and/or too nice to say ‘no,’” Bennett tells City Paper. “I knew about half of the interviewees, but I cold emailed/Facebook messaged the rest.” Bennett plays bass in D.C. band Dot Dash by night and works on contracts law at a D.C. firm during the day. He’s also a writer who contributes to music magazine Ugly Things, and has two nonfiction books under his belt. In The Prodigal Rogerson, Bennett unpacks interviews with ex-managers, ex-bandmates, and music journalists to piece together the formerly obscure story of Circle Jerks’ bassist Roger Rogerson. His other book, Upside Down Punks, is an oral history recounting a summer 1988 Fugazi concert he attended at a Philadelphia YWCA. The show had been largely forgotten until old photos of co-vocalist Guy Picciotto hanging upside down from a basketball hoop resurfaced on social media years later. Bennett’s latest book is different from his previous efforts. Rather than following a specific person or event, More Punk Than the Public Library is a mosaic of perspectives from dozens of contributors, including Danny Ingram of Youth Brigade (also Dot Dash), Peter Cortner of Dag Nasty, and Bennett’s Dot Dash bandmate Terry Banks. At Politics and Prose, Bennett will discuss this latest book with Kim Coletta, former bassist for D.C. legends Jawbox and owner of DeSoto Records. J. Hunter Bennett discusses More Punk Than the Public Library with Kim Coletta at 5 p.m. on May 16 at Politics and Prose’s Connecticut Avenue location. politics-prose.com. Free. —W.L.

Bibliophiles, mark your calendars for local writer events, author talks, panel discussions, story sprints, and more.

01/05/2026

Hi all. As some of you may recall, I stayed busy during the pandemic by starting the Nevada Avenue Outdoor Free Bookshop — a little library specializing in punk rock and noir. The NAOFB had an accompanying newsletter, which was chock full of interviews with D.C. punk luminaries and essays by my friends, family, and neighbors about books, music, and host of other random stuff (e.g., neighborhood encounters with angry celebrities, outside-the-box host gifts, and an exclusive, behind-the-scenes account of that time the Duke men’s basketball team suffered a crushing loss to UNC on national television because its stars had been up all night playing video games). I like to think of it as Chevy Chase D.C.’s friendly neighborhood punk zine — written largely by non-punks.

I’m pleased to report that Microcosm Publishing is releasing an anthology containing highlights from all 12 issues, along with some new content, including killer forewords by Anton Bogomazov of Politics & Prose and Velocity Girl’s Jim Spellman. (You can see a complete list of interviewees and contributors by clicking on the link.) Of the various books and zines I’ve worked on over the years, this was the most fun and closest to my heart.

There are two great options for securing a copy:

(1) Come to Politics & Prose at 5:00 pm on Saturday, May 16 for the official release celebration. My friend Kim Coletta (of Jawbox and DeSoto Records fame) and I will be talking about the book and the NAOFB more generally.

(2) If you’re outside of the D.C. area, you can order one directly from Microcosm. Copies will start shipping in early April. NOTE: Microcosm doesn’t sell to Amazon. If you order the book from Amazon, it’ll be coming from a third-party seller and will likely cost more and arrive months after the book’s release.

Hunter

The DC punk scene meets Little Free Libraries. Hilarious, vibrant, magically drawing cohesion between divergent themes, brimming with endorsements of the best...

10/11/2025

New stock available at our newish location on the corner of Reno and Jocelyn in Chevy Chase DC. Take a cool book, leave a cool book.

09/07/2024

Yo, it’s been a minute. Check out our back-to-school blowout with punk rock, jazz, Paramount Records, the Fab Four, crime, strange Japanese nonfiction, and my favorite book when I was in fifth grade. Come on by!

05/27/2023

New stock.

04/20/2023

The Proprietor will be spinning punk rock rekkids at CCDC’s newest and coolest store this Saturday from 1:30 - 2:00. Come on by.

03/31/2023

Big thanks to whomever dropped this off. It’ll go back in the box as soon as I finish reading it.

03/12/2023

The head librarian readying today’s book drop.

03/05/2023

Just restocked.

02/20/2023

Back in business. Corner of Reno and Jocelyn. Grand reopening celebration to follow.

12/08/2022

Unfortunately, we are way behind in packing for the move and have to cancel the Great Unscrewing. We’ll have a grand reopening once we’re settled in at our new location.