Category Archives: Birmingham

Alabama, Authors, Birmingham, Book Talk, Events

Join Wayne Flynt as he talks about his new book & friend Harper Lee

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Hey Birmingham, AL book readers and history buffs… I just saw that Wayne Flynt is speaking this weekend at the Avondale public library. It’s a free event (Flynt is on a 40-city book tour) where he’ll discuss and answer questions about his book Afternoons with Harper Lee. 

The event is:

  • Sunday, February 26, 2023
  • 2:00 pm–3:00 pm
  • Avondale Library
  • 509 40th Street South

The folks from Thank You Books will be there too, selling Flynt’s book so you can walk out with a signed copy as well as get to hear from one of Alabama’s best historians and storytellers. Flynt’s books are always some of the best-researched and poignant. 

wayne flynt book about harper lee
Cover design by Randall Williams

Wayne Flynt and Harper Lee were longtime friends, so he knows the very private novelist well enough to write a book like this. It sounds like most of the stories and reflections come from his visiting Lee during the last years of her life (she died in 2016). No doubt Flynt has some unique insights to share from all of his discussions with Lee.

Afternoons with Harper Lee is published by New South Books which was recently acquired by the University of Georgia Press. While it’s sad that Alabama lost a publisher it is great to see that they have landed somewhere as srong as the UGA Press program is.

I love this praise quote that is inside the book:

“Wayne Flynt is the great Talmudic scholar of Alabama, and this vivid, affecting deconstruction of his friendship with Harper Lee through the history that produced them both is a huge reward and pleasure for those of us who understand that, unaccountably, all roads seem to lead to our grand and terrifying state.”
– Diane McWhorter, author of Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama–The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Birmingham, Book Column, Book Talk, Bookstore Tourism, Bookstore Travels, Bookstores

LITTLE PROFESSOR PEPPER PLACE – PHOTO TOUR

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UPDATE: this bookstore closed in June 2025.

I finally made it by Little Professor – Pepper Place, back just before Christmas. This is an offshoot of Homewood, AL’s longstanding bookstore – Little Professor Book Center. The new location is tucked around the corner from the main parking lot and is a fantastic spot. The location is walkable from a number of shops and restaurants all the while maintaining a “hidden shop” feeling even with its high ceilings and big bright windows.

They are located at:
2807 2nd Ave S, Suite B
Birmingham, AL 3523

Their hours are:
Everyday 8:00am – 3:00pm

The selection is on par with the Homewood location, but the sidelines and gift-y items, at the Pepper Place location, are a bit different. There were plenty of shelves full of new titles and plenty of empty shelves ready to be filled.

Here are a few photos that I took of the bookshop. If you’re in the area, it’s worth swinging by to see what they have in your area of interest.

The view of the front door to Little Professor Pepper Place.
A sign to Little Professor Pepper Place.
The view of inside the front door to Little Professor Pepper Place.
The view of inside the front door to Little Professor Pepper Place.
A table of books inside the front door to Little Professor Pepper Place.
Alabama, Birmingham, Bookstore Travels

News Article on Alabama Indie Bookstores

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It’s always good when indie bookstores get a shout out in the media. It’s even better when they’re local and close by! A few weeks agao teh folks at AL.com did an article featuring 12 independent bookstores in Alabama to check out, and it was a pretty good slate of shops (though more photos of the indie stores would have been even better, but I digress…).

There are quite a few familiar names on there, but I was pleasnatly surprised to see two shops that I’ve not run across before.

Sweet Home Indie bookstore
Sweet Home Books offers lots of fun themed collections.

Sweet Home Books is just down I-65 in Wetumpka. Road trip anyone? The Al.com article says they are very new, but you can see they are on Instagram and facebook promoting their books and a celebrating a few authors. Their site also has a section called Middle Grade Books for Creators, which is a wonderfully curated list of kids’ titles. This looks like a shop that is worth checking out.

The other shop that is new to me is Shades Of Pemberley Bookstore, in Albertville, AL. It sounds like the perfect weekend stop to go through shelves of used and old books, looking for a unique read. They are on facebook as well.

Love the storefront at Shades of Pemberly!

The whole AL.com article is worth a scan and no doubt these shops are worth a visit. When you’re done with their article, be sure to check out all of the Birmingham-area bookstores.

Alabama, Birmingham, Bookstores, News

New Bookstore Opening at Pepper Place

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Birmingham is getting a new bookstore downtown! Today, Homewood’s Little Professor bookshop announced they are opening a second location at 2807 2nd Ave. South, in Pepper Place, this year.

They said they’ve been on the lookout for “an experimental space” in which to set up a new concept for them. They plan on having a coffee bar, light cafe fare and cocktails to offer during events and throughout the day, alongside all of their books and magazines.

Sipping a cocktail while looking for a good read? Sign me up!

On August 27th, from 8am-12pm, you can get a taste of what they have planned during their first “pop up” shop. They’re hoping to tap into the crowds and community vibe of the Pepper Place Farmer’s Market as they test out their ideas and begin outfitting their space.

I’m very excited about another bookstore opening downtown. It’s going to be fun to follow along and see what the folks at Little Professor have planned. Here’s a photo tour of what their Homewood space looked like back in 2017 when they opened and you can read their full statement here about their new Pepper Place location.

little professor and pepper place