Category Archives: Bookstores

Hoover Library Used-Book Store

Here is a quick photo tour of the Friends of the Hoover Library Used-Book Store. It’s located on The Plaza back near the magazines and snack bar and there is another “secret” room downstairs that has $1 books!

Hoover Library Bookstore Dollar Books

They keep carts outside the shop with $1 books. Its always worth looking through as 90% are hardbacks and many are donated (a.k.a. books without library markings/stickers). They have a nice easy to understand pricing system once inside.

Hoover Library Bookstore 001

Hoover Library Bookstore 01

Hoover Library Bookstore 02

Hoover Library Bookstore 03

Hoover Library Bookstore 04

Hoover Library Bookstore 07

Now the Library Used-Book Store keeps an overflow room of used books downstairs along the wall of the community room. All of these books in the “Book Nook” are $1. The turnover here isn’t as high as upstairs so I don’t check on this every visit. But I have found some gems there. So do check often.

To get to the room, go back out to the main library hallway and follow it around towards the non-fiction sections. As you are approaching the “quiet study cubicles” there will be a stairway on the right. Take this downstairs. Once downstairs take a left and you’ll see the room.

Hoover Library Bookstore Nook 02

Hoover Library Bookstore Nook 01

Hoover Library Bookstore Nook 03

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Hoover Library Bookstore Nook 06

Bookstore Density

Great Britain Bookstores

Check out this very cool interactive map of bookstores around Great Britain. You can zoom in and out all around the country and it shows where the clusters of shops are. As useful as this would be for someone living over there (or someone over here planning a vacation) I admit to being jealous in seeing just how MANY bookshops are crammed into such a small area. But before I broke out the bourbon to lament the state of U.S. bookshops I thought I should at least make sure I was comparing apples to apples. . .

Here in Birmingham, we have 6 really good independent shops and another 7 big box bookstore chains all in a geographic area of around 152 square miles and a population of around 212,000 people. So I looked around and found Brighton and Hove. It’s a seaside town, south of London, which has a population between 210,00 and 220,00, but it only takes up about 30 square miles and has 12 bookshops showing on the map.

Brighton and Hove Bookstores

No doubt the research turned up by my few clicks around the internet wouldn’t hold up in court and with only one cup of coffee in me, I can’t even draw any really meaningful conclusions except to say that we seem right on track with the rest of the world. How often do we get to claim that?

We have some great bookstores here in Birmingham run by some wonderful people. The only thing I’d change is that I’d like more bookstores. Little shops with little eccentricities. Special book places that specialize in certain topics. And most of all… a growing populace that supports them all!

Birmingham Library Used-Book Sale

Today kicks off the Summer Reading Book Sale at the library bookstore at the Birmingham Central Branch. The sale, which runs through June 10th, knocks another 25% off books priced at $2 or less (which is much of their stock). You can get more details over on the blog post that the library put up. According to that post the shop will be open until 5:30p every day.

The book store is located on the 2nd floor, to the left of the escalators, as you come up. Here’s a quick photo tour of the Friends Bookstore from earlier this year too. Though it’s worth mentioning that the stock has increased a good bit since these photos were taken.

Hope you get the chance to swing by and find something good!

Upcoming Author Events

Here is a quick list of some author signings in the Birmingham-area over the next few days. Let me know if I missed anything cool. We’re lucky to have so many events around town.

Tuesday, May 2nd – Lisa Dahl at noon at Gus Mayer/Summit signing The Elixir of Life Cookbook

Saturday, May 5th – Bernice King at 2 PM at Books-A-Million/Brookwood Mall signing Desert Rose: The Life and Legacy of Coretta Scott King

Saturday, May 5th – Charles D. Cole at 1 PM at Little Professor signing Strategies for Success in Law School & Beyond

Tuesday, May 8th – Dolores Hydock at 4 PM at The Alabama Booksmith signing In Her Own Fashion

Thursday, May 17th – Ron Tanner at 6 PM at Little Professor signing From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story

Friday, May 18th – Sarah Frances Hardy at 3:30 PM at Little Professor signing Puzzled by Pink

Saturday, May 19th – Jim Douglass at 11 AM at Little Professor signing Gandhi and the Unspeakable: His Final Experiment With Truth