This month Simon Goldhill’s Freud’s Couch, Scott’s Buttocks, Brontë’s Grave is the University of Chicago Press’s free eBook offering. I have not read it yet, but the book is all about writers, their homes and travel. When I travel I always look up local literary points of interest and local indie bookshops to visit. They are so much more interesting and telling than the usual sight-seeing fare.
Goldhill’s book not only points the way to where these literary locations are, but also digs a little deeper in trying to connect the dots between these places and the writers that were there. I scanned a bit of it and he seems intent to tackle questions like:
Why did author go there? What were they looking for? What will you find if you go there today? Some of the historical sites of note, listed in the book, are:
Sir Walter Scott’s mansion
Wordsworth’s cottage
the Brontë parsonage
Shakespeare’s birthplace
Freud’s office
So if literary pilgrimages and bookstore tourism are your thing, be sure to check out UCP’s free eBook this month. (There are a few caveats: they use Adobe DRM, so you’ll need an approved eReader app for that and a kindle fire may be the only kindle device that can read these free ebooks. I haven’t confirmed that though.)
Church Street opened its doors on July 2, 2011. I stopped by on opening day to see what they had to offer, in the way of books. The selection there was great! It’s not huge, but very well curated. You can tell that this is a shop isn’t just run by folks who like coffee… they are also readers. It doesn’t take a customer long to figure out that some real thought and research went into the books part of the business. The first thing you see when you walk in is a floor-to-ceiling double bookcase of fiction titles. It was great fun looking through what they had and it felt kind of like visiting a neighbor’s home and perusing their personal library. There is usually just one copy of a book on the shelf and no floor stacks of the latest big-name thriller. So stop by and see what Birmingham’s newest indie bookstore has to offer.
They also have about 8 tables and a couple of big comfy chairs to sit in. I didn’t check to see if they have wi-fi and it was too hot, of a day, for me to buy coffee. But I did pick up a copy of Deborah Blum’s “The Poisoner’s Handbook“. It’s been my experience that coffee shops see books as an “add on” type deal. That’s obviously not the case here and I’m excited to see what they have to offer on down the road.
Below are some photos of what the shelves looked like on opening day.
This is what greets you when you enter the shop.They have a mostly-fiction section under the banner “Summer Reads”The kids section is tucked in the corner. Complete with bean bag chair.I like the shelf talkers that start each section. The look like bookmarks.The first case of non-fiction is to your right as you walk in.The other case of non-fiction is across from the coffee counter.Lots of books on little tables & around the registers. They even have books on the walls.
*** This store closed in 2017 and the post is being left up as an archive ***
Books Etc. is the latest addition to our chronicling Birmingham-area bookstores. The shop is going on three-years-old and let me tell you, this is my kind of used-bookstore. It’s one of those places that is crammed with books to the point that you just have to meander about, letting serendipity do its thing. But you can also tell that a true book-person is over seeing the store. Most everything is shelved under category signs, which helps when you’re in a hurry.
Books, Beans and Candles MS is in an old Birmingham house going up 20th on your way to Vulcan. It’s on the righthand side, just after you pass the “Y-split”. Owners Mitchell and Darby Hagood have been at this location since August 2008, though they’ve been in business for two and a half years. Ever since seeing the sign out front (it starts with the word books!) I’d been trying to find time to stop in and see what it’s all about and finally was able to make it in and get some photos.
The view from the street.
Mitchell Hagood sums up the shop with one word… “metaphysical”. (photos after the jump)
Goldhill’s book not only points the way to where these literary locations are, but also digs a little deeper in trying to connect the dots between these places and the writers that were there. I scanned a bit of it and he seems intent to tackle questions like:
