Category Archives: Book Column

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

LITTLE PROFESSOR PEPPER PLACE – PHOTO TOUR

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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.
Book Column, Book Talk

My 2020 Recap

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I am so thankful to have 2020 in the rearview mirror. In pulling together this recap, I realized that I am certainly one of the fortunate ones and hope you and your loved ones are doing well. I have a job that lets me work from home, no one in my house got sick and for whatever reason I was not affected by the “I just can’t read right now” bug that bit so many of my friends. Being stuck, er safe, at home for so long, I was able to fill much of my time with reading.

I always find other bloggers’ annual reviews interesting and have enjoyed posting my recap from time to time. Though I never follow a template and just post whatever info is interesting to me at the time. So here is a quick peek into my reading in 2020. I hope you’ll post and share your readings somewhere. Please share!

  • 45% of my books came from used bookstores
  • 35% of my books came from independent bookstores
  • 20% of my books came from big box/chain bookstores

This is the first year, since starting this blog, that none of the books I read came from the library (thanks, pandemic). Needless to say, I am pretty excited to get to go back and browse the stacks at my local library.

One of the things I like tracking is how I discovered a book. This year my “I first heard about it on a podcast” column only had two books in it. Not having a commute has really killed my podcast listening.

  • 38% of the books I read were recommended to me
  • 30% of the books I read were ones I just stumbled upon in a bookstore
  • 18% of the books I read I first saw in a magazine or newspaper
  • 7% of the books I read came from book blogs I follow
  • 3% of the books I discovered through podcasts
  • 2% of the books I was gifted with, and
  • 2% of the books were ones I first heard about on Twitter.
5 book spines that I recap

Top 3 Favorite Fiction books I read this year:

Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing. I’m usually actively avoid ‘magical realism’ type books, but after I read Ward’s eye-opening and crushing memoir Men We Reaped a few years ago, I’d been on the lookout for more. I felt like this was a gamble for me and it was. But it was so worth it.

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne. I’m a tad embarrassed by how much I enjoyed Boyne’s wicked new novel. It’s a story dripping with depravity orchestrated by one of the meanest characters I’ve ever read. Bonus points for being a book about books and publishing.

The Motion of the Body Through Space by Lionel Shriver. I’ve been a fan of Shriver for some time. Her writing is just fantastic. This book is a bit of a slow burn when it comes to big swings in plot, but Shriver’s framing of an aging marriage in light of today’s focus on youth and exercise and self-worth is wonderful.

Top 3 Favorite Non-Fiction books I read this year:

Upstream by Mary Oliver. This was my first introduction to Oliver. Wow. I was blown away. Such a steady hand and mind. I was saddened when I learned she died, in 2019. She’s one of the writers you dream of writing letters to when you’re reading her book.

The Address Book by Deirdre Mask. I’ve already shared this book, in an earlier review. Not much else I can say except it’s rare when I book moves me to action and get involved.

How the South Won the Civil War by Heather Cox Richardson. This is another one that I reviewed last year and I find myself constantly referencing as I read the news these days ahead of Congress’ certifying of the Electoral College votes.

And I have to call out my favorite “Books About Books” book that I read in 2020. I found So You Want to Publish a Book? by Anne Trubek wonderfully honest and encouraging. Just a great conversation with someone any book-loving person would like to have coffee with. Trubek gets HUGE bonus points from me for mentioning Alvin Lustig. Throwing out the Lustig love is pretty much as close as you get to having ‘street cred’ in the book world.

I truly hope 2021 is off to a good start for you. I hope you are healthy and have a good read nearby. If so, please share! The year is just beginning and I am excited about the reading list ahead of me. I’d love to add to it.

Book Column, Book Reviews

How the South Won the Civil War – A BOOK REVIEW

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How the South Won the Civil War presents an answer to a singular question – how is it that the hateful thinking and racist political motivations of the Civil War-era South are still around? History professor Heather Cox Richardson does a wonderful job in presenting an answer and helps shed light on many forgotten events, people and politics. Many history books (trying to present a new slant or case) wind up being too academic. Too stuffy. People won’t want to read them. This history book isn’t one of those. There is a mastery to the logic and sources that Richardson presents and the writing is compelling and well done (and at only 272 pages, many of which are citations and sources, it’s totally manageable).

book cover for How the South Won the Civil War
The cover design was done by Kathleen Lynch.

No spoilers here, but in How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America Richardson shows, that just as the post-Civil War South was failing, those still waving the Confederate flag found a new home for their thoughts and beliefs – out West.

The premise is that the genteel individualism/states rights thinking of the South was easily transplanted and fit nicely with the narrative of rugged individualism and manifest destiny that the West was using to fuel its growth. So the picture book illustration of the rugged cotton farmer being the backbone of the U.S. became the illustration of a rugged cowboy surviving on his own and protecting what’s his.

So while both pictures touted things like family, strength and individualism, in practice they were both built upon a foundation of slavery, racism and taking things from “the other”. Richardson’s argument was a new one to me and there is plenty to think about.

How the South Won the Civil War starts way back at our country’s founding showing (again, in practice) how the “ultimate paradox” was present in forming our country. It’s the whole “All men are created equal” being written by a slave owner argument. The policies and legislation made up through the Kansas Act, Red Summer after WWII, the politics of the late 1960’s through the 1980’s, etc. allowed for this paradoxical thread to weave in and out and continue up to the most recent presidential election.

And that’s one thing I appreciated about what Richardson has created. It’s not just an origin story. It’s not just a snapshot. Using very conversational language and plenty of sources, she is able to show that what happened hundreds of years ago created a nation with race-issues and ideologies that we are seeing play out today.

It doesn’t matter your background, your current politics or your opinion on how things are going in our country. This book is one you should read. It’s a healthy conversation to be a part of. Whether you agree, disagree or just have tons of questions, it’s a book that will have you underlining and scribbling in the margins.

I am giving this book 3 out 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys history books or finds themself having difficult conversations about what’s happening in the U.S. these days.

Book Column, Events, On the Web

Mailchimp Book Festival 2020

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The folks at Mailchimp held an online book festival earlier this month called ‘By The Books’. At first I thought it kind of weird that an email newsletter company would be hosting/coordinating such an event, but once I scrolled through and took in some of what they had shared, it was pretty cool. The voices they are featuring seem to point to the fact that they ‘get books’ and understand the role that books play in our lives and communities. I thought this was just an underwriting/sponsorship thing, but I think I was wrong.

I clicked throughout Mailchimp’s ‘By the Books’ festival site and thought there were some interesting essays on there. I won’t name my favorites yet, as I didn’t read them all. But I felt it was time well spent on the handful I did read. It’s worth clicking through to scroll and see if anything piques your interest.

I will say: go ahead and maximize your browser window once your on the site. Things will just visually line up better. It will help in navigating the site too. While I was taking in ‘By the Book’, I was on three different screen sizes and got disoriented a few times.

(Pro Tip: if you click on the three colored rectangles in the top right of their screen the page will just give you a straight list to run down)
Cover design for Big Friendship was done by Elizabeth Spiridakis Olson.

‘By the Books’ featured a collection of books (with links to buy) curated by Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow. The selection is really broad in scope and quite refreshing. Friedman and Sow also do a podcast together called Call Your Girlfriend. I am guessing they spun that series into a book as they have just released Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close, published by Simon & Schuster. It seems to be in the same vein as their podcast.

The festival also hosted a pop-up version of the Longform Podcast for this event and it’s called The Books That Changed Us. So far three episodes are on the site (you have to click on the ‘Listen’ menu item).

But do check out the essays as well as the author conversations (just keep scrolling down on that main page). The videos are interesting too, if you haven’t seen them before. The ones I watched are a few years old and have been on YouTube for a while. But it was nice to see them again and have them curated here.

I had heard that ‘By the Books’ was created to help fill the vacuum left when the Decatur Books Festival had to cancel this year. If that’s true, that’s very cool.

This was an event I hope other brands and companies think about doing. Extra attention and spotlights are something all authors could use right now. It’s hard enough to get ink for new books and voices any time of the year. During an election year? Three times as hard. Getting publicity during THIS election year with everything else going on? It’s going to be tough (unless your name is Bolton or Mary Trump or Michael Cohen.

So keep reading and sharing book blogs. Start your own book blog! And check out Mailchimp’s ‘By the Book’ offerings. They can’t replace the Decatur Book Festival or the Alabama Book Festival, but it’s fun to hang out there for a bit.

Hope you are doing well these days and are surrounded by some good books.