If there is one thing to get residents of Columbia excited about something, it is a new bookstore. There are a few scattered around the greater Columbia area, from the corporate Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million to the tried-and-true used bookstores like Ed’s Editions and The Book Dispensary, but there have not been very many that fit in between. That was the case until Odd Bird Books opened in the Main Street arcade alongside businesses like Swanson’s Deli. For three years, this was the one bookstore that offered a cozy atmosphere, a great mix of used and new books, and a welcoming staff that was always in the mood to talk about their favorite books or give recommendations.
Of course, the demand for an improved store lingered. When Odd Bird Books’ owner Ben Adams partnered with University of South Carolina Law Professor Clint Wallace and his wife Jenna, the trio birthed the concept of All Good Books: a community driven, independent bookstore. After a successful campaign funded by the community, the bookstore opened in the building formerly occupied by The Thirsty Parrot, which had been closed for quite some time. With a fresh coat of white paint, the space has become revitalized! The grand opening of the store was on March 2nd and was met with tremendously high community support. We looked in the store during the first Sunday afternoon they were open.
The bookshelves are divvied up into cozy little corners that zigzag along the wall, creating pockets of space for specific genres or groups of authors. The fiction section is massive (as to be expected) and spans the right wall next to the entrance until it joins up with sections like poetry, true crime, essays and more. There’s a combination drink bar/checkout area tucked nicely into the front of the store, where customers can enjoy a glass of wine, cold beer, or a coffee while they shop. There are tables with featured book collections in the center of the store as well, and next to the checkout is an adorable young readers’ station, with bookshelves at toddler height and a small reading hut. This one area was enough to make us fall in love with the store (even if all the Board of Directors are 4 times the target height for the reading nook). The store extends further back into a developing area with a huge community table that customers can chat with others and enjoy their new book at.
On opening weekend, a plethora of patrons, including local artists, populated the store, proving our whole community is super excited about All Good Books. Jasper will stay on the lookout for author talks and events that they’ll hold; in fact, they’ve got two lined up for mid-March already:
Talk with the First Lady of Iceland on March 13th
Book Launch with Marie Boyd on March 19th
Want to go support a local business but not sure where to start? Jasper has compiled their favorite books to give you some horizon-expanding inspiration. Who knows, one may become your new favorite too!
“My favorite authors are Margaret Atwood, Alice Hoffman, and Barbara Kingsolver, but my all-time favorite books are In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens by Alice Walker, The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt.”
- Cindi Boiter, Jasper Project Executive Director
“Going After Cacciato, by Tim O’Brien, will always be on my very short list of all-time favorites.”
- Jon Tuttle, Jasper Play Right Series Manager
“It always depends on who asks. My go to answer switches between The Shining by Stephen King or The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner.”
- Emily Moffitt, Jasper Board Secretary
“I go through too many phases to have solid favorites, but Diary by Chuck Palahniuk was the first thing that popped in my head!”
- Bekah Rice, Jasper Digital Manager
“The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy!”
- Christina Xan, Jasper Treasurer and Gallery Manager
“Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.”
- Kristin Cobb, Jasper Vice President
“A Pooka in Arkansas, by Ed Madden.”
- Bert Easter, Jasper Board Member
