While in the area of Union Street to locate some New Deal-connected buildings, I found this little block of storefronts. I liked the stained glass effect of the Art-Deco styled awning.
The quirky paintings in the window captured my attention, as did the "Yay! Everything! tags. My personal favorites: Yay! Roadtrips! and Yay! Reading! If there is any one thing that has brought so much to my life, it is reading, and the love of reading. I cannot imagine not being able to read, and while I am slowly adjusting to reading on a computer, I still want my books hardcover, with words printed on paper. If I could gift every child born with the joy of reading, I would do it in a flash--it makes such a difference in how so much turns out.
Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964) was 39 when she died from systemic lupus, as had her father when she was 15 (georgiaencyclopedia.org). As much as I have loved to read, and read quite a bit by quite a lot of writers, I recall nothing I might have read by Ms. O'Connor. In the event you are desirous of hearing her
read in her southern drawl what is said to be her most famous work,
A Good Man is Hard to Find, see what you think of her writing and her reading. I am a bit curious now, so I suspect I might have to giver her a try and discern for myself if her satire, irony, and humor--apparently tightly cloaked in her Catholic faith--is all it was cracked up to be.
As far as
Union Avenue Books goes, it is a locally owned indie, and they host local, regional, and nationally known authors for readings and signings since they opened in 2011 in the Daylight Building--which was the reason for my unexpected discovery.
We believe an independent bookstore is essential to the vibrancy of our community...
Now, Knoxville is on our short list for retirement locale. What's not to love if not to eat, sleep, and read local, and especially when it looks this enticing? I think, to quote my friend Gigi, "these are my people!"
4 comments:
Oh how I share your sentiments about the gift of reading! Books have been my life-long companions and there is nothing that pulls me in more than a bookstore or especially a used book sale. I had a kindle, but I have to have pages to flip back and forth. I like the sign in the window - eat, sleep, read - I would lack for nothing more if that was all I could do!
These would definitely be my people! I love bookstores so much and this looks like such a great place! I can't imagine not reading, either. It would be so sad. I find that I cannot read for long any more without my eyes getting tired, which irritates me to no end! I had to read Flannery O'Connor in college; I remember Wise Blood and The Violent Bear it Away. At that young age, I thought they were really weird and I didn't like her writing much. But perhaps now I would find a new appreciation!
It is always so nice to find myself among kindred spirits--though of course, I already knew ya'll were!
Only child growing up on a farm 30 minutes from anywhere with no satellite, no VCR (for the longest!), no computer, no smart phone, and no play station I spent many a day lounging in the house under my grandmothers huge air conditioner reading my way through my dad's old books. Man, what a life!
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