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Earlier this year, we shared some our staff’s favorite bookstores. This week, we asked authors of our April titles to share what bookstores hold a place in their hearts and memories, and in some cases, who will be hosting them for an author event! #CRPreads
I grew up in a small town where Barnes & Noble was my only option. I spent hours there, sipping a hot chocolate, lounging on the armchairs, and getting lost in the shelves. . . it was a real sanctuary for me. I know some people look down on chains and I am enamored with every indie I’ve ever met, but you never forget your first love. It was my gateway to new worlds! I used to dream of a life beyond my hometown and of a time when a book of my own creation might be housed on those hallowed shelves. I’m doing a signing there in a few weeks—dreams really do come true! —Laura Sook Duncombe, author of Pirate Women
This weather makes us want to curl up on this couch in #TatteredAspenGrove with a good book. Good thing we’re in no shortage of those! Do you have a favorite spot in a Tattered Cover store you like to rest and read? A post shared by Tattered Cover Book Store (@tatteredcoverbookstore) on
Hands down, it’s the Tattered Cover in Denver. They’re a class act and actively engaged in supporting all kinds of authors, not just the bestsellers. The Tattered Cover is a thriving independent, with three locations now, and situated here in the heart of the West, native born and newcomers alike appreciate the cultured and wide open vibe. I’ve given readings from East Coast to West Coast and bookstores in between. Still, the Tattered Cover stands apart, for attention to detail for both customers and authors. —Peter Eichstaedt, author of The Dangerous Divide
Powell’s Books Chicago is the ultimate gold mine for obscure and out-of-print books. You can spend hours going through the stacks and I’ve never left without buying something special. On a more conventional front, the Barnes & Noble bookstore in St. Augustine, Florida, has a pleasant atmosphere, an extensive collection of recently published books and classics, and a coffee shop with the best cupcakes in the world. There are comfortable seats in quiet corners, and they have an extensive collection of newspapers. Great customer service. —Bruce Kading, author of Miguel’s Gift
Yes, we’re still open this beautiful Saturday afternoon. And no parade traffic here today. Pop on over for a book. A post shared by Octavia Books (@octaviabooks) on
New Orleans thankfully still has some great independent bookstores. I love Octavia Books which has a great selection and engages the community with wonderful readings and events. The Garden District Bookshop is also wonderful. —Thomas Lowenstein, author of The Trials of Walter Ogrod
I no longer live in the Great American Midwest, but I have fond memories of Bertrand Smith’s Acres of Books in Cincinnati. My first wife loved the city and wanted to visit often. I’d go anytime, but what drew me there was the city’s unique chili and this magnificent bookstore. The building had a basement and four or five floors of books. I’d spend a whole day there and still feel cheated of time. After the second floor, it was glow-as-you-go lighting—you had to pull the cord to light the shelves, then turn it off when moving on. There might be chairs crammed in nooks here and there, but this place was solid books, floor after floor. It might just be me and one other browser on a floor for hours at a time, making no sound other than the occasional throat clearing or burst of flatulence. (It was the other guy, not me.) I understand that Bertrand Smith opened an Acres of Books that was a Southern California institution, but to me, there was something about the Bertrand’s in Cincinnati that was of another time and place. Looking out and seeing sunshine wouldn’t gibe with the dark interiors and the books stuck in every horizontal space. Luckily, there were bathrooms on all the floors—tiny water closets, but still somewhere to go to save you the trek down to the main floor and the return up the narrow stairs to browsing. No coffee here, no croissant. It’s a bookstore, dammit. I’m not sure if it’s still there. I know the one in California closed. I’m not often in the Midwest anymore, and I almost don’t want to know if that temple of books still stands. When I scan my home library, I open up many a book to find the stamp of Acres of Books and remember the time and place I bought it. After Fenway Park, Acres of Books was my happy place. I’d hate to know my happy place had gone out of business. —William McKeen, author of Everybody Had an Ocean
I have a particular affinity for Waterstones, St. Andrews, Scotland, not only because that was one of the first bookstores in which I did an author signing but also because my crime series is set in that wonderful old Scottish seaside town, with its cathedral ruins and crumbling castle, black cliff faces and narrow lanes and pends, and cobbled streets where X still marks the spot—almost 500 years on—where religious heretics were burned alive at the stake. Horrific but, I have to say, fascinating. —T. Frank Muir, author of The Meating Room
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