Category Archives: Bookstore Travels

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:

Thank You Books – Birmingham, AL

Thank You Books is one of Birmingham’s newest bookstores and an all around indie hot spot. This shop is a lot of fun and has so much energy for having just popped up in December 2019. I think this just shows how much care and consideration the owners are putting into their bookstore and the books they select. They’re selling new books and the care and consideration carries over into the way they deal with the shop’s visitors as well (both online and offline).

The seem to be most active on Instagram and I’ve enjoyed lurking during some of their “live” events online. Just good book people sharing the books they enjoy and doing what they can to foster a healthy book culture here in Birmingham.

I sure do miss visiting bookstores… but these photos will have to do, until the self-isolation period is over. Once it is, be sure to give them a visit, here’s some details (and I really do recommend following them on the social channels):

Thank You Books
5502 Crestwood Blvd, Unit B
Birmingham, AL 35212
205-202-3021
https://www.thankyoubookshop.com/
twitter: https://twitter.com/thankyou_bham
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thankyou_bham/

And here are the photos taken back, in 2019, soon after the opened. It seems like years ago. Notice how the stars on the front sign are carried on throughout the store across the floor? So fun!

Big feature wall inside Thank You Books.
inside Thank You Books in Birmingham, AL

UPDATE: here are some pictures of their new kids area.

Thank You Books new children's area
View of Thank You Books new children's area
Floor cushions in Thank You Books new children's area
Big windows in Thank You Books new children's area