We spent last weekend over in the Peach State, getting lost in Atlanta. Between bouts of “where the !@#$%^&! are we” I managed to squeeze in a few bookstore visits. My goal was to visit only stores I’d never been to… and I hit the jackpot.
Continue reading New favorite haunt
EDITOR’S NOTE: Sadly, this shop closed in April 2009. This post is being left up as an archive.
Jonathon Benton Bookseller
2705 Culver Rd
Birmingham, AL 35223
(205) 870-8840
jbbookseller@gmail.com
This small independent shopis located in Mountain Brook, just off Highway 280. Their store web presence seems to always be in flux but they do seem to do a better job of keeping their MySpace presence more up-to-date. They have a full coffee bar and the bookstore staff always seems very knowledgeable and helpful. It’s popular with a handful of book clubs and local folks.
It’s a nice small bookstore to peruse. They do a good job of keeping the most recent titles in stock, but nothing too far back.You’ll have to call about the hours, as they don’t keep them posted.
There’s a new book “lending” service in town… PaperSpine.com
It’s just like Netflix, except for books. That’s right. The monthly plans start at $9.95, you click which books you want to read, they mail them to you, you read and return, then they mail you the next one on your list.
It’s sounds a lot like a library, except this one you pay for. I guess there are some places in the country that have limited access to books, but I find it hard to believe that this new business will actually make any money. It just seems like a really bad idea. Some of this discussion has already crept up on PaperSpine’s blog.
Libraries, local bookstores, Amazon, chain bookstores, etc. they have a pretty good track record for getting books, cheaply into people’s hands. I just don’t see the “it worked for Netflix and movies, so it’ll work here” argument holding any water.
{via GalleyCat}
