Monday, August 3, 2009

A Great Bookstore

Thriller Guy (TG) is back from Savannah where he, as always, paid a visit to the E. Shaver Bookstore, one of the great Independent bookstores in what is one of the most beautiful small cities in the U.S. Located just off Madison Square on Bull St., the eleven room bookstore is helmed by a number of knowledgeable ladies who always seem almost preturnatually cool and collected as they go about ably handling browser requests. I always think of Abraham Lincoln when in the presence of these ladies, or at least a comment Lincoln once made to his close pal, Joshua Speed, when both of them were bunking over Speed's General store in Springfield, and Lincoln was first courting Mary Todd. Lincoln told Speed that Mary was, “The cleanest woman he had ever known.” When Thriller Guy stumbles in through the door of Shavers, hot, sweaty and beaten down by the unrelenting Georgia sun, here are these lovely ladies sitting around the cash register, as fresh and clean and cool as, well, daisies, cucumbers... whatever.


So what's the good word about current thrillers from the Shaver ladies? They're keen on Ravens, by George Dawes Green. Thriller Guy hasn't read it yet, but it's set in Georgia and concerns a family that has just won a $318 Million lottery and the two bad guys who show up trying to extort half the money for themselves. It strikes Thriller Guy as being somewhat, at least in tone, like A Simple Plan by Scott Smith (great book!) though I may be wrong. Any readers out there want to chime in?


The Shaver ladies also report that Harlan Coben is a Really Nice Guy, drives an old car , stays in mid-range hotels and endears himself to the legions of fans who follow his every book.


Also, business is good at Shaver, and they're doing quite well in these tough economic climes.


Anyone else out there have a favorite bookstore?


5 comments:

  1. Thanks to the economic struggle we're all in, I've been frequenting Half Price Books more and more. They are in over a dozen states (Including Texas and California)

    Most books, DVDs, Cds etc are half off, just like the sign says. You can also bring in your own, old and new books you've read, get credit or cash back on them (depending on how recent or collectible they are, you can get a decent return most times) and then browse away, using that cash to buy more books.

    Being that people are always exchanging their own collections, chances are you'll find something that the Borders or WalMart isn't carrying due to limited space

    You say that you love to read but money's been tight? Check out Half Price Books. Or heck, crack open that yellow pages or google local used bookstores and help keep them in business.
    Chances are they'll thank you for stopping by!

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  2. Hey welcome back Allen. My family and I just got back from a trip as well, the Outer Banks. Why anyone on earth would want to vacation there in the last week of July beats the heck out of me. I was born and raised in Louisiana and I have always hated the humidity and heat, and NC was likely as hot and humid as your GA visit, I think I'll find a vacation place a little closer to home next time. There wasn't one bookstore that I noticed, other than my Kindle / Amazon collection, but that isn't quite the same.

    I used to love Powell's books in Portland, OR. That place had just about every used book, and new book, you could think of. Check out their interesting history in the About Us link at Powells.com - they are like a mini-amazon.com now.

    Regards,

    Joel

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  3. I don't believe I've ever been in a Half Price Books though I've done my share of shopping in used bookstores. As Mr. Zubek says, you can get a great selection of books you may have missed along the way and for reasonable prices.

    As for the Outer Banks in July, yes, it's hot, but I always found that standing in the ocean and spending much time in my air conditioned beach house mitigated the pain. As for bookstores in the Outer Banks, the Island Bookstore in the Scarborough Faire Shoppes in the small beach town of Duck, NC is a great bookstore: a tremendous amount of stock and an excellent knowledgeable staff.

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  4. I get my books where I've always gotten them: my neighborhood library. Can't beat their price anywhere...

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  5. Half-Price Books are incredible book stores! They may be my favorite, if it weren't for "The Book Barn" in Niantic Connecticut: http://www.bookbarnniantic.com/
    350,000 used books! It is well worth a trip there. You won't believe it. A three story barn, and multiple out buildings each dedicated to a different genre. The place got so big over time that it expanded into another store a short drive away. Add to that, many friendly cats and dogs and goats, and fish ponds and on, and on, and on...

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