All posts by trav

At the heart of it all, I’m a fan. A fan of books and bookstores. A fan of fiction and non-fiction. A fan of authors and publishers. And most of all I’m a fan of great conversations sparked by books. All that to say - I really need more bookshelves.

Books at Brookwood Mall

This weekend I had to run through Brookwood Mall for a bit, but found myself wanting to stay, due to all the FREE books! It was fantastic. According to the signs it’s a partnership between The Literacy Council of Central Alabama and the Brookwood Mall.
Brookwood Mall

Brookwood Mall

If you want to take a book – then take a book. It’s free! All they ask is that you leave a book too. What a great deal and what a great location.  .  . at a mall. I love it.

While I didn’t find anything to take home this trip, this will certainly be a place that I’ll check in on a good bit. They did have hardback copies of all three books in the ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ series. Which is a good deal, if you haven’t gotten those yet.

Brookwood Mall

The bookcases surround the tops of the escalators outside of Macy’s as well as outside of Belk. I can vouch that the couch and chairs are indeed as comfy as they look.

Brookwood Mall

Brookwood Mall

I hope that this turns into a permanent setup at the mall. In fact, I hope it’s so successful that other malls, in the Birmingham area, will take note and set up their own free lending libraries.

Birmingham Library Bookstore

The Friends Bookstore at the Central Library re-opened in a new location in April 2016. The library bookstore is now on the first floor now just to the left of the checkout desk, as you come in the main entrance. The big bright windows are fantastic to browse by (though I hope the spines don’t fade!).

library bookstore

 

I stopped by to check it out and found some great finds. You probably will too. Most everything in there runs between $.50-$3 range depending on if it’s a mass or trade paperback or hardback.

The library bookstore constantly runs sales and updates the community about recent donations. So I highly recommend signing up for their newsletter list.

Anyway, here are a few photos I snapped back in April when they first opened.

library bookstore

library bookstore library bookstore BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore05 BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore06 BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore07 BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore08 BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore09 BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore10 BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore11 BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore12 BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore13

BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore15 BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore16 BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore17 BirminghamLibrary_Bookstore18

If you want to see what the shop looked like on the second floor, here is the 2011 photo tour of it.

Book Review “Life on the Edge”

I am very thankful for having read this Life on the Edge. And 100% of that thanks goes to the authors. While I can not say I agree (or even understand) everything they brought forth, they did so in a very “common sense” manner that I appreciated.

life on the edgeAt times, when reading Life on the Edge, it felt more like a conversation than a lecture. Which is not how a lot of science books I pick up often feel. They both must have a natural knack for explaining things. And even though their own certainty and mastery of the subject is apparent (and well researched) their sense of wonder of the biological systems and bodies around them still comes through their writing.

Quantum physics, quantum effects, quantum mechanics seem to be ingrained not only in our physical universe but also through all of nature and biology. The passages about the brain and neurons and the whole system is very fascinating.

I was surprised how much ink was spent on the “why” of the ideas in the book. That is until I fully realized how new and forward thinking their ideas are. Hopefully others will write more in this area as new discoveries are made.

I have a new appreciation for nature and all of the amazing too-small-to-see processes that happen. Processes that labs can’t replicate. Processes that scientists can witness but not explain. All very very cool.

I still have tons of new vocabulary words I need to look up. I give this book three out of five stars and am recommending to every one I know that has read folks like Bill Bryson and Bryan Greene.

(Please note that I received a free copy of this book, from the publisher.)

$5 Fine Coupon for JCLC Libraries

Here is a coupon for a $5 credit to be applied to your library fines at Jefferson County libraries. You must print the coupon out and take it to a JCLC branch next week April 10th – 16th.

jclc_nlwcoupon

The $5 coupon is part of the JCLC library system’s celebration of National Libra$5 ry Week which is next week. According to the full press release there are a few other new things of note:

  • they are going to start allowing folks to renew library cards via the phone as well as online (though I can’t find where)
  • there is an instance when the $3 cost is waived for replacing a library card
  • expiration dates for library cards has been extended from one year to two years

So, if you use the Jefferson County Library system, grab the coupon and knock out some fines!