Category Archives: Bookstore Tourism

Alabama, Bookstore Tourism

Court Street Books – Florence, AL

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Court Street Books has been open for just a couple of years, but when you walk in you get the feeling they’ve been around much longer. It’s just so obvious that they know what they’re doing. These are book people.

The shop has an incredible offering of both new and used books all sitting on the shelves together. It’s always fun knowing you might trip over a book from years ago that you missed and that you can compare used and new book prices. They also had lots of discount carts with 30% prices.

I got to Court Street Books around 5:30pm on a Wednesday and there were lots of folks still hanging around, attending an event, buying coffee, picking up books and just enjoying being in the presence of other book folks.

One of my favorite things about Court Street Books is that they maintain an online storefront on AbeBooks listing all of the older and more collectible books that come across their desks when folks are selling their used books. I wish more shops did this. They also maintain a pretty robust events calendar and loads of stickers, pins, and shirts all over the shop.

There are plenty of reasons to visit the quad-cities area of Alabama. When you do go visit, I recommend putting Court Street Books on your agenda.

Court Street Books
610 S. Court Street
Florence, Alabama 35630
(256) 633-0469
hello@courtstreetbooks.com

Bookstore Tourism

Riverstone Books – Pittsburgh, PA

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I recently got to explore the Squirrel Hill area of Pittsburgh, PA and had a wonderful time inside the Riverstone Books location there. This shop is much bigger on the inside than it looks from the street and is worth popping in.

My absolute favorite part were all of the Staff Recs. While there were a few titles that you run across just about every Staff Pick in just about every shop, these on the tree by the front door were an eclectic mix of topics and form. Such a celebration of why read books, just inside the door.

The shop has a lot of new books to choose from as well as lots of cool sidelines and gifts for folks who like to spend time with books. If you’re in the area, it’s worth a stop.

Riverstone Books – Squirrel Hill
5841 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
(412) 422-2220

Bookstore Tourism

The NewSouth Bookstore – Montgomery, AL

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The NewSouth Bookstore is located in the heart of downtown Montgomery, AL and is a wonderful way to spend an hour. The shop is a fantastic mix of used and new books. I love the mix. They have all the new books you’d expect to find, but with added bonus of stumbling across a book you’ve never heard or seen before. I thought the prices were very fair based on a book’s condition and rarity. Be sure to look for the bins and shelves of $1 books as well.

As soon as you walk in you’re greeted by Staff Picks and bookcases of classics. If you like good literature, it will take you a long while to work that room before you get back to the meeting room with all the non-fiction. Such a fun visit.

It’s worth following The NewSouth Bookstore’s Instagram feed as well just to keep up with all of their author events and book signings. Below are a few of the photos I took during my visit.

The NewSouth Bookstore
105 S. Court Street
Montgomery, AL 36104

Bookstore Tourism, Bookstore Travels

Dauphine Street Books – New Orleans, LA

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I made sure to swing by Dauphine Street Books after learning that they had recently bought Beckham’s Books a few blocks away.

It was so fun to see how many people were in there. No doubt this is due as much to the neat categories of books they carry as well as their location. (When we walked out there was a Second Line parade making its way down the street. So fun!)

Dauphine Street Books is that quintessential indie bookshop that you think of in the movies. It’s piled and packed with books and every category seems to have the wonderfully specific subcategories. While here you feel equal parts tourist, book lover and archeologist.

This shop is definitely one for folks who love used books and are looking for something truly unique, with really fair prices. Don’t miss it if you find yourself down in the Crescent City.

818 Chartres St
New Orleans, LA 70116
www.dauphinestreetbooks.com
504-529-2333