Spotlight on Bookstores: BookMan BookWoman in Nashville

Have you ever been to Nashville?  I was there about 16 years ago for a quick-tour weekend, but now know that I have to go back! This wonderful Spotlight on Bookstores post from Linda Leaming has me convinced that I’ve got to spend hours (days?) wandering the Hillsboro Village area of Nashville, with a good amount of time devoted to BookMan BookWoman.

Linda is the author of the memoir Married to Bhutan, which I highlighted here.  Her description of Hillsboro Village and of BookMan BookWoman, lead me to think that this area has embraced some of the “accidental enlightenment” ideas she writes about in Married to Bhutan.

To learn more, visit Linda Leaming’s website and follow her on twitter.

All About the Magic

Hillsboro Village is two blocks in the middle of downtown Nashville where it seems like time has stood still for about 50 years. Its tree lined streets offer leisurely shopping in stores like Pangaea and Davis Cookware, where you don’t just go in and pick up an egg timer. You go and visit with Ted and his dad and Sandra Shelton. Hillsboro Village also has cool restaurants including the old standby, the Pancake Pantry, that always has a line in front of it. My favorite bookstore,  BookMan BookWoman, is also there, right across the street from “The Pantry.”  It’s one of those places I walk out of with stacks full of books that I’ve always wanted to read, or had once and lost track of, or books I just had to have because they are so unusual or fun.

For me a visit to BookMan BookWoman is all about magic. I always have a memorable experience. Literally every time I walk in the place I feel transported. First, there’s that musty smell of old books that every true book lover can’t get enough of, and then I wander through row upon row of old books on the uneven shelves, shelves that are miraculously orderly considering the traffic the bookstore gets. When I find something that peaks my interest, there’s always a comfortable chair wedged in a nearby nook to plop down in. And I always find something I’ve been looking for, even if I didn’t know I was looking for it. Last year, I stumbled upon a copy of Gita Mehta’s Karma Cola: Marketing the Mystic East, a gem of a book published in 1994, and more relevant today than ever. I read almost half of it sitting in the store. Nobody minds if you hang around. On a recent visit I foundAn Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden, a book I have always meant to read by my favorite author. Finding it on the shelves of BookMan BookWoman was a sign I should finally read it. The shop never disappoints.

BookMan BookWoman has been around for 16 years and is going strong thanks to the hard work and devotion of owner, Saralee Woods,her husband Larry, and a small staff who obviously love the shop and love what they do.

I’m not the kind of person who thinks e books are destroying publishing. Change is inherent in all things, and even Saralee Woods understands this. That’s why, when Davis Kidd, Nashville’s premier bookstore in Green Hills closed about four months ago, the Woods and the staff at BookMan BookWoman stepped up and started carrying new releases. Now BookMan BookWoman is THE place in Nashville for book readings, launches and signings. In fact, I was there to read parts of Married to Bhutan on May 5^th, during the HillsboroVillage Art Walk.

Linda, thank you so much for telling us about BookMan BookWoman!  The entire area of Hillsboro Village sounds wonderful – the perfect day might start off with breakfast at the Pantry, followed by browsing up and down 21st Avenue, and ending with a long shop to “find something I’ve been looking for, even if I didn’t know I was looking for it” and author reading at BookMan BookWoman.  I’m sure you had a great evening for your event there!