Category Archives: Bookstore Travels

LITTLE PROFESSOR PEPPER PLACE – PHOTO TOUR

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.

News Article on Alabama Indie Bookstores

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.

Scout & Morgan Bookstore – Cambridge, MN

Scout & Morgan Books is one of those super fantastic stores that reflects its region and it is one of my top ten favorite bookstores in the country. I’m not the only one who thinks highly of Scout & Morgan. They won the 2019 Bookseller of the Year Award from the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association. The MIBA’s write up of the shop and staff is great. And once you read a description like this. . .

Scout & Morgan has an elegant, welcoming atmosphere, with the latest books stocked alongside used and fine antiquarian books, a fireplace, and comfortable chairs for reading.

. . . how can you not want to go? It kind of checks all of the boxes, doesn’t it?

Located about an hour north of Minneapolis, Scout & Morgan has carved out a wonderful place that’s worth stopping for, if you ever find yourself up there.

Whenever I’ve visited they’ve always been super nice and friendly and certainly know their stock. They have a well curated selection of new books as well as shelves full of used books. The used books aren’t your “bent corner” variety either. They look great and are fun to peruse. And the used book prices are better than fair.

They have plenty of local books and being in Minnesota they are tied into the state’s rich literary culture. The Books About Books section at Scout & Morgan is a must. It’s a full bookcase and is mostly used books so you never know what you’ll find. Looking straight through, from the front door. and you’ll see a back wall FULL of fiction. It’s shelves and shelves of new, used, cheap, not-as-cheap, and a blast to shop.

Anyway, I hope you are doing well this week and that we all get to go out and visit our favorite bookstores again soon. Looking through bookstore photos helps some, but I’m ready to get back out there!

Here are some photos from one of my visits: