Dog-ear this list! It wasn’t that long ago that Nashville was a bookstore desert. In fact, one of the reasons that author Ann Patchett opened Parnassus Books in 2011 was that both of the city’s big bookstores had closed and she didn’t want to live in a city without an independent bookstore — or any bookstore at all.
Well, it seems like Patchett had a crystal ball. Nashville is in a rising age of indie bookstores, with some new ones recently opened, others about to open, and some old favorites getting better and expanding. Plus, there’s a spate of new specialty bookstores, including a few that used to be mobile-only and now have brick-and-mortar spots. Browse the offerings on this list and grab your summer beach reads.
Where Business Is Booming
Last week, East Nashville’s decade-old book nook The Bookshop announced it is moving to a larger location. Later this year, it’ll move to a house in McFerrin Park, nearly three times bigger than the cozy, well-edited current shop (already The Bookshop’s second location; it previously outgrew a spot in the Shoppes on Fatherland). The new house will include a porch and a coffee nook. The current shop, stocked with cookbooks, literary nonfiction, and, yes, my guidebooks and children’s book, is open for business until the move. (More on this move on the pod.) Other East Nashville bookstores worth popping into include Defunct Books, Novelette, The Green Ray, East Nashville Books, and Fairytales Children’s Bookstore.
Discover a Summer Romance
If you like to read romance novels, two bookmobile businesses have planted roots in East Nashville. Shook About Books sells used books from a cozy, light-filled shop in Riverside Village. While it isn’t all romance, there’s a good selection, plus other fiction and non-fiction, children’s books, and more, all at flat-rate prices. For romance-only, head to Afro Latina-owned Slow Burn, where the shelves are packed and the vibes are moody.
Find Your People
Speaking of moody vibes, that’s the idea at The Raven, a new bookshop/bar/coffee shop in Brentwood. Danniele Reeves opened the spot to provide the community a place to hang out, and in the short time it's been open, I think it’s done just that. Every time I stop by, I see families, book clubs and just groups of friends looking to gab, sip and read, all while being surrounded by a dark academia aesthetic.
New Spots Incoming
Bell Bird Books is now open in Wedgewood-Houston. Its initial press materials promised more than 1,000 sq. ft. of literary titles, stationery, and writing supplies. Meanwhile, Duckbill Bookshop opened in Old Hickory in December and is hosting local journalists/authors Becca Andrews, Jordan Ritter Conn, and Steven Hale on June 20. (Tickets are free, but register in advance.)
Author Lindsay Lynch interviewed author Steven Rowley at Parnassus Books in May. (Margaret Littman / City Cast Nashville)
My Summer Reading List, So Far
Personally, I’m having a good start to a Good Book Summer (GBS), during which I set a goal to read more books — and doomscroll less. I always read a lot of nonfiction for article research, and I just finished “Ice Cream Queen” by Nashville's own Lokelani Alabanza. It publishes June 16, and I'll have an interview with Alabanza in the Nashville Scene next week. It's part history lesson on the contributions of Black America to the development of ice cream and part cookbook. I've flagged several recipes I'm ready to try, perhaps to eat on my deck while I'm reading.
To start my GBS, I got sucked into the wild ride of tradwife time travel book "Yesteryear.” I didn't realize it took place in Idaho, which is where I grew up, so I got lost and went on a deep dive of the geography on top of tracking the outrageous plot. Next, I read back-to-back books that have similar titles but could not be more different: “Dandelion Is Dead” and “Beth Is Dead.” “Dandelion is Dead” is a sweet, weird charmer. “Beth is Dead” is a YA thriller inspired by “Little Women.” My nickname is Meg, which my mom gave me because she loved “Little Women,” so I feel a connection to the March sisters (although I’m more of a Jo than a Meg).
I saw one of my favorite authors, Steven Rowley, at Parnassus last month, talking about his new book, “Take Me with You.” In the novel, one character goes up in a UFO while his husband is left in the backyard in Palm Springs. At the beginning of the talk, Rowley asked audience members to raise their hands if they would go with the aliens if a spaceship with a bright light showed up in their backyard. I was sitting toward the front, so I couldn't fully see how many people behind me were responding, but it seemed to me that I was in the minority. Most people would stay home. It seemed obvious (to me) that this was a chance to explore worlds I would never otherwise get to see. But I guess other people are worried about alien probes. What about you?
