Chattanooga Pulse

Once upon a time, families gathered to hear stories read from the bound paper pages of a book. Kids asking questions were told, “Go and look it up in the encyclopedia.” Libraries and neighborhood booksellers held the key to worlds only accessed in the imagination. Books not only provided entertainment and a means of escape, but also shared vast stores of knowledge with anyone willing to open and read them. Naturally, this was before the dawn of 24-hour television, video games and the Internet. Yet even in the electronic age, the beloved book seems to be holding its own.  In fact, with the expansion of several local bookstores, it seems that books might be making a comeback in Chattanooga.

Barnes & Noble recently moved to a new location inside Hamilton Place Mall. Amid the multitude of humdrum mall store facades, the new Barnes & Noble stands out like a veritable shrine to the written word. Customer Relations Manager Elizabeth Murphy says, “The new location has been a great thing for us. We have a larger store and we have exposure to lots of new customers.”

Like the former location, the new store houses a Starbucks cafe, which has proven to be a great asset. “People like to browse through the stacks of books, sit down with a coffee and scan several books before they make their selections,” says Murphy. Customer Brooke Steele frequently visits the bookstore to relax and enjoy her free time. “Reading is definitely my favorite past time,” says Steele, “I love to get a good cup of coffee, grab a cozy chair and ‘sample’ several books before I buy one…or a few.”

The atmosphere at McKay Used Books, CDs and More is a little different—and exceedingly popular. The high-energy music, along with row upon row of assorted book spines may be slightly daunting for some. For a book lover—it’s heaven. McKay’s enormous amount of business caused them to outgrow their home and build a new Lee Highway location off of Bonny Oaks Drive. McKay buys and trades books of all kinds.“We try to take in as many items from the public as we can. This keeps the inventory fresh and always changing,” says General Manager Aaron Bandel. “At the same time, we try to keep our prices right so that we are able to sell as many items as possible.”

Dealing in trade and used books has also worked well for Grumpy’s Music and Books. Late this past summer, owner Doug West moved the store to its new location in the Northgate Marketplace next to Northgate Mall. West has seen his business become more competitive over the years, but book sales are still strong. “More people are choosing to play games or other forms of entertainment,” says West. “But people who love to read will always read books.”

Rock Point Books introduced the new Moon Pie General Store at their location on Broad Street this past weekend. Even with the new addition, the store continues to focus heavily on offering books and showcasing the talent of local authors. The store features a stage for book readings and signings, which take place about twice monthly. Rock Point is also home to many book club meetings. A list of events is available on their web site.

For Winder Binder Gallery owner David Smotherman, the acquisition of neighboring A Novel Idea bookstore on Frazier is something of a dream come true. “This is now the store I envisioned when I first started out,” says Smotherman, who opened his small original store 15 years ago, featuring art and rare books. The newly formed Winder Binder Gallery and Bookstore still offers customers a wide variety of folk art and rare books but now includes a large inventory of used books and many local selections. “We don’t have anything from or about Chattanooga that doesn’t sell,” says Smotherman, “The only new books we offer are from local authors or are of local interest. Of course we can order any book.” Smotherman is thankful for the opportunity to support local authors in the same way that he has supported local artists over the years.

This holiday season when you’re making your list and checking it twice—remember that the gift of a book is always welcome.

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Hot Reads for the Holidays

According to Books A Million Assistant Store Manger Robin Scott, newspaper and radio coverage dramatically affects their sales of certain books. This season she expects the big sellers to be Sarah Palin’s new book, new releases from both Stephen King and John Grisham, Mike Huckabee’s collection of Christmas stories and of course, the wildly popular “Twilight” series.

Art books and recent releases are sought-after holiday items at Grumpy’s and gift cards seem to be popular across the board. Winder Binder’s David Smotherman points out that a book is a good gift for everyone for every occasion. He says, “It doesn’t matter who they are, there is a book that fits their interests.”