grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

That Bookstore in Blytheville – New Owner!

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TBIB New Owner
Have you been to That Bookstore in Blytheville (TBIB) lately?
In 1976, Mary Gay Shipley opened That Bookstore on Main Street in Blytheville, Arkansas, as a place to swap one stack of used paperbacks for another stack of ‘un-read’ paperbacks. Only a little hole in the wall,  Mary Gay nurtured and grew her bookstore, which eventually attracted New York Times best-selling authors to her little spot along the Arkansas Delta Byways. 
When she announced her retirement, I worried. I don’t like change, especially when books are involved.
I am happy to report I still love it. The new owner of TBIB, Grant Hill, is book knowledgeable and friendly. He humored me as I ‘practiced’ being on book tour.
See? Here I am pretending to be at my very first book signing. The picture is blurry because I’m too excited to be still.
That Bookstore in Blytheville

My friend Harold says I’m the only person he’s ever heard of who promotes a book yet to be published. So? I’m just extreme vision boarding…

TBIB dedicates rows of shelving to regional books by local authors. There are many. I stared at the books lining this section and pictured copies of my book stacked right beside Reflections from the Black Lagoon by Julie Adams. (Julie, from Blytheville, was the Creature’s bathing beauty…) 
Grace Grits and Gardening Candle
Grace Grits candle posing at TBIB in front of Julie Adam’s Creature book…:)

If you live or travel anywhere in Northeast Arkansas or the bootheel of Missouri, be sure to stop by TBIB and buy a few great books (or a whole stack like my mother and I did). And be sure to follow TBIB on Facebook and Twitter. Wherever you live, go out today and support your local independent bookstore.
That bookstore in Blytheville

Now, I need to find a publisher…

talya

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Powell Books, Portland, Oregon

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Grace Grits and Gardening
Saturday we landed in Portland met up with our friends Craig and Lori and headed straight to Powell Books. 
Powell Books, the largest independent bookstore in the world, was the first thing on my Portland ‘must-see’ list. John jumped on board—he’s a book addict too.

Craig and Lori graciously humored us.

Rooms and tunnels and passageways and nooks were crammed with new and used volumes spreading an entire city block. The throng of shoppers made staying together difficult, so we separated knowing eventually we would hook back up. 
Grace Grits and Gardening

I became lost in Literature.

I stood in awe, absorbed within a million worlds. Walking between walls of every-colored books, I touched the spines, some brittle and ancient, some slick and new. I could have lingered two days but exercised extreme self-control and bought only one book. (Where’d You Go Bernadette—it’s on my book wine club list.)

John disappeared into Fiction in search of Donald Harrington books. He feels compelled to give every un-purchased copy of Choiring of the Trees a new home, and I love that about him.

Craig and Lori escaped to a bar around the corner.

talya

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” 
― Stephen King

R is for Reading

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Once upon a time I unearthed a skeleton key buried in a badger hole. The rusty key unlocked a secret garden gate that led to a lifetime of fantasy and adventure, history and travel. From The Leaky Cauldron to the Great River of Narnia, each place taught lessons I carry with me.
Swinging on vines through unspoiled jungles of Africa without ever leaving my bedroom, freedom became more important than worldly objects.  Entire summers were spent sleuthing in the Osceola Public Library with Nancy Drew, solving mysteries hidden under the stairs.
Across the ravaged south I trekked, following love into the cold Shenandoah Mountains.  Back home, the choiring trees of the Ozark Mountains sang to me.

Kite fighting in Kabul brought courage and redemption, the likes of which I had never witnessed. Exotic smells and sounds came alive while brilliant colors spiraled and floated through the air, touched rooftops, rested on the ground.
Searching for the meaning of life and mourning all things lost, I found myself while hiking the wild Pacific Crest Trail. 

Visiting the egyptian pyramids from my porch swing, I discovered when something is truly desired, the universe conspires to make it achievable.

Where have you been lately?
R is for Reading

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” 
― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

Musical Pairing:

Sail Away
I’m blogging my way through the alphabet.
A to Z April Blog Challenge. R is for Reading…

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!