Spotlight on Bookstores: *Blue Ridge Books* in Waynesville, NC

This Spotlight on Blue Ridge Books was written by Nancy Werking Poling, author of Had Eve Come First and Jonah Been a Woman and Out of the Pumpkin Shell.  Blue Ridge Books is located in western North Carolina, near Great Smoky Mountains National Park; I’d love to visit the area and stop at the bookstore for “a cup of coffee, a fresh scone, and a good book.”

Not all that long ago the mountain towns of western North Carolina were geographically isolated. The Great Smoky Mountains Expressway, plus modern communications systems, changed all that. Today these towns, Waynesville among them, have become a mecca for retirees and urban dwellers in search of a vacation home. At the same time there are residents who proudly claim local ancestry. Thus, while western North Carolina has the flavor of Appalachia it is also, in a way, an extension of Atlanta, Miami, Chicago.

Located just south of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which draws more visitors than any other national park in the U.S., Waynesville has a thriving downtown. Along its tree-lined Main Street can be found antique stores, arts and crafts shops, restaurants.

And, at the edge of downtown, Blue Ridge Books, co-owned by Jo Gilley and Allison Best-Teague.

So how does an independent bookstore in a small North Carolina town serve the needs of a community that both embraces its mountain heritage and wants to be connected to the outside world? It’s a conundrum that Blue Ridge Books seems to have solved.

Browse the store’s 10,000 volume collection and you’ll come across plenty of regional books, ones related to Cherokee history, Appalachian music, and works by local authors. At the same time you’ll find national newspapers, such as the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Barron’s as well as books on the New York Times list of best sellers.  

Gilley and Best-Teague have scheduled special events that respond to the community’s age diversity as well as to its cultural diversity. On August 7, I led a workshop for women over fifty who wished to write their memoirs. A few days earlier there had been a book party for children. A week later the store hosted an event for preteens and teens: a local high school rock group, its leader a published poet.

The owners also envision their store as a place for people of all ages to hang out. The scents of fresh-baked goods and coffee invite you to settle into a table or booth along the front window. Or when no special event is taking place, you can take your coffee and book into the adjoining Events Room, which resembles a large parlor, with a sofa, comfortable chairs, and tables. Like most independent bookstores, this one is attuned to the literary interests of the community it is part of.

If you’re visiting western North Carolina or traveling between the national park and Atlanta, you won’t regret stopping at Blue Ridge Books for a cup of coffee, a fresh scone, and a good book.

Many thanks to Nancy for shining a spotlight on Blue Ridge Books!  Have any of you near Asheville visited this bookstore?