Category Archives: Book Column

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

Little Professor Book Center – Photo Tour

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The Little Professor Book Center has been a mainstay in Homewood, AL since the early 1970’s and has recently re-opened in its third location. It’s neat that all three locations have been on the same street.

They are located at:
2844 18th St. S., Homewood, AL   35209
Phone:   (205)870-7461

Their hours are:
Monday-Friday 9:00am – 8:00pm
Saturday 9:00am – 6:00pm
Sunday 10:00am – 6:00pm

The new shop is a fun stop. The big front windows let in so much light, the covers near the windows really shine. No matter where you stand in the book store you can see to the other side and use all of the section signs posted on the pillars for navigation. The Little Professor is located smack dab in the middle of downtown Homewood now and their foot traffic must be 200x what it was.

Though there are no more used books and there is no more Crape Myrtle Cafe (home to one of the best pimento cheese sandwiches in the Birmingham-area) it’s worth checking out for the fully stocked shelves and cozy seating area.

And of course, the same smiling faces are there ready to chat all about books!

Below are a few photos I took of the new bookstore. You can also catch up with the Little Professor crew on Instagram or over on their site.

Book Column, Book Reviews

“Just Mercy” – Book Review

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Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy is one of those books that every functioning adult should read. To say this book had an impact on me is selling it short. Without a doubt, it is the book I recommend the most to people. Here’s the author’s site about the book.

Stevenson has a no-nonsense way of presenting the facts, the story and his point of view on all of it. Maybe it’s his training as a lawyer. Maybe it’s his up bringing. Maybe he’s just thought about race, relations, the law, the South, poor people, or history more than anyone else and has been mired in the good and the bad since he first went to work.

Just Mercy shines the light on the injustice (true injustice) that goes on these days. I won’t take the time to spout trends and numbers at you, but the real world (and recent!) story Stevenson shares about wrongly imprisoned people will wake you up. These things are not from the 1950’s, they are current issues.

I have to admit that when I first heard of Stevenson’s and the Equal Justice Initiative’s plans for a memorial on lynching – I didn’t get it. I honestly didn’t. But now that I’ve read his book, I totally get it.

Regardless of your experience with the law and race issues, regardless of your stance and opinions, regardless of what you think of poor people – this country must talk about it. We must listen to each other and decide what’s best for everyone.

Just Mercy is the best place I know of to get started. I hope you will take the time to give this book a read.

Five out of five stars and I’m recommending this book to anyone with a heartbeat.

(Please note that I did receive a free copy of this book to consider for review.)

Book Collecting, Book Column, Book Talk

Oh to be a fly on the wall of this bookshop. 

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I just finished reading A Passion for Books compiled and edited by Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan.

The book was a fun read. Really fun. It was full of crazy book collectors and crazy book collector stories. One of my favorites is where A.S.W. Rosenbach is sharing stories from his time around his uncle’s bookstore / publishing house: his Uncle Moses’ Shop on Commerce Street.


Can you imagine a bookstore like this? A bookstore where Edgar A. Poe, James Fenimore Cooper, WC Bryant, Webster, and Melville, all frequent and hang out? What a storied childhood! No wonder Rosenbach landed where he did in the pantheon of bookmen.

So cool.

Book Column, Events, News

Alabama Book Festival 2017

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This weekend book lovers and writers from around the Southeast will be in Montgomery, AL for the 12th annual Alabama Book Festival. Here is the full schedule.

This free event is held at Old Alabama Town, which really sets it apart from other book festivals in the region. It’s a great location with interesting buildings and lots of front porches on which to chat up authors.

The Alabama Book Festival officially opens at 8:00 a.m. and will close around 5:00 p.m. The lineup is quite extensive this year with more panels and poetry folks than I remember from years past.

With more than 50 authors present this Saturday, it’s a fully loaded schedule. There are  some authors that I am very excited have made it to Alabama. The ones I am most excited about are:

  • Joe Haldeman (Venue C at 3p-3:45p) – this guy is a legend in the sci-fi circles. He’ll be on a panel discussing graphic-novel adaptations of books. His book The Forever War is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi reads.
  • The Outdoors Panel discussion (Venue C at 11a-11:45a) – I recognize a couple of the travel writers here. They’ve done some good books.
  • Kyle Stevens (Venue B at 10a-10:45a) – Stevens is heading up the Social Justice Panel discussion. So many good books in this category over the past two years. The discussion is going to be worthwhile.
  • Cassandra King (Venue E at 11a-11:45a) – Her works include The Sunday Wife and The Same Sweet Girls.
  • Winston Groom (Venue E at 3p-3:45p) – Best known for writing Forrest Gump.

There are other panels throughout the day including Cozy Mystery, Dark Mystery, Kid’s Picture Books, Comics, Romance, Military History, Food and Spirits, and more.

There are also a few workshops for writers. I think these are all free as well, but you do have to register online as the seating is first-come, first-served.

The only thing really missing this year is Capitol Books. They closed down last year and won’t be there cheering on the authors and manning the Bookshop Tables. Books will still be available for sale though, as Barnes and Noble will be stocking the tables this year.

If the weather is anything like the past two weekends, it’s going be a great day for a book festival.