I spent some of my most formative years in the employ of a locally-owned bookstore. I worked at Madison Books & Computers from October 1988 to May 1993—a timeframe that encompassed nearly all of my time in college.
I won’t say it was a carefree path for an independent bookseller then, but doubtless there were things that made it easier. The Web hadn’t yet come of age, for example. It’s been really hard on the local bookstore in the years since.
But guess what, folks? Today, here in northern Alabama, we have The Snail on the Wall.
The Snail on the Wall is owned and operated by my longtime blogging acquaintance Lady Vowell Smith. You can order just about any book through her store. I just got my copy of The Room Where It Happened delivered to my door today, and I’m looking forward to getting into it.
I’m stepping up my local business game significantly, and I’ll be making the effort to get all of my books from The Snail going forward. If you’re like me and prefer physical books to reading on a screen, put The Snail on the Wall into your consciousness.
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