The Importance of Wordsmiths
August 5, 2008 | 4:09 pmBaby Got Books points out that it goes well-beyond Decatur, in a passionate cry to its audience…
Wordsmiths, in business for less than two years, has been instrumental in helping to create the lit scene that we all deserve here in Atlanta. No one in this town works harder to get authors in front of a crowd than the gang at Wordsmiths. No one. Their readings are always an event that may also feature local bands, national indie musicians, free hairpieces, local chefs, contests, prom backdrops, cupcakes, and – well, you never really know what else may happen. You can rest assured that an evening at a Wordsmiths reading is never going be boring. How good is Wordsmiths programming? New York Times-worthy. Don’t take my word for it. Check out Wordsmiths’ Flickr photostream. Then remind yourself that all of that action is taking place in a bookstore….
I love what Wordsmiths is all about. I think that they have hit upon the winning formula for selling books in the digital age while also creating a literary community. They’ve made going to the bookstore cool again. Bottom line: there is always something happening (or about to happen) at Wordsmiths. I’m sure that we’ll all survive if Wordsmiths disappears from our landscape – but we’ll all be the poorer for it.
Over on the Wordsmiths blog, Zach links to all the blogs/newspapers that have already posted on their campaign. And as someone somewhere already pointed out, if you’re against donating to the store but appreciate its contribution, you could still go purchase a book or two at full-price. Or buy a $10, $50, $100 or $500 Friends of Wordsmiths membership. Then the store makes a profit up front and you get benefits going forward.
What a crock.
Really, this just seems like someone saying: “Make me whole for my bad business decisions.”
The owner chose to open in a location he couldn’t afford. He relied on assurances of sales from this mysterious “Unfortunate Book Event.” While they do seem to have a knack for programming, I have found their catalog disappointing (although I have purchased a book at their new location.) Decatur isn’t exactly hurting for independent book stores, either. Eagle Eye on North Decatur has a great selection, and someone obviously thinks they can make a go of it at “Blue Elephant” across the street in the Publix shopping center. And A Cappella is making inroads inside Decatur CD. Oh yeah, isn’t there some kinda “indie bookstore/coffee house” next door. We might have the most bookstores per capita in the metro area.
If they are so important, perhaps their call will be heeded. However, the Atlanta area let Oxford Books (a truly great bookstore, in an era before Amazon and the interwebs) die, so who knows?
Mike,
The Oxford book store was the first though that came to mind when I read about this. I feel terrible for anyone faced with losing their dream but I have the same concern about viability that you do.
I have been to the Smith & Hawken that resides in the old Oxford 2 space a couple of times and it makes me sad to see what has become of that cool old house FULL of used books – and don’t even get me started on all those afternoon/evenings I spent upstairs at the Cup & Chaucer in the 80’s…
All that said, I sincerely hope that Wordsmiths is able to pull through here and make a go if it in the future.
I wrote a National Register nomination for the old Oxford books building a couple years back…but it was more of an exercise. Its not currently on the NRHP…as far as I know the nomination is still sitting at the State Preservation Office.
It was originally the “National Library Bindery” and was designed by famed Atlanta architect, Ten Eyck Brown (he designed the Fulton County Courthouse and MLK Federal Building among others). A great old building.
Wordsmiths is a great community center, with a wonderful calendar of events.
But despite my desire to support local merchants, I’ve always been disappointed with it as an actual bookstore, and I buy books there out of a sense of guilt and obligation. Their book selection is skimpy and haphazard, and their inventory pales even in comparison to the big-box chain bookstores in shopping malls (even Borders, which is a bookstore for kids who don’t read good).
Face it, people: Wordsmiths just isn’t an inviting place to hang out and browse. I’m astonished by its lack of basic design sense and usability: the temporary sign that hung outside for months, the patchy indoor-outdoor carpeting, the lack of any clear sense of organization, poor lighting from incongruous chandeliers, the messy and disorganized display tables and magazine rack.
My favorite bookstores– The Strand in New York, Elliott Bay in Seattle, Black Oak in Berkeley, Powell’s in Portland– don’t offer much in the aesthetic department. But all of them are intelligently laid-out, with books chosen by people who read, and are places I want to waste entire afternoons.
I certainly don’t expect functionally illiterate Atlanta to compare to the best bookstore cities in America. I don’t expect an encyclopedic selection from a local neighborhood bookstore.
But go across the Square, and compare the browsing experience to that of Little Shop of Stories, whose adult book selection is smaller but smarter, and whose staff know how to schedule big events AND make the store inviting for browsers of all ages. And they also seem to have thought through their business plan…
FYI…Zach is addressing a lot of these questions and critiques over on the Wordsmiths blog.
http://blog.wordsmithsbooks.com/?p=355
Also, the AJC has an article about it today which includes a quote from Steve over at Taste.
Ditto to Daniel’s comments- ugly place to hang out. Rather than a PR person, should have hired someone with retail design experience.
I am sure there are other stores here in Decatur that are suffering with this economy and could use a boost with the public’s support. Not to rehash, but many have gone under probably because they didn’t think out their business plan, or offered something Decaturites and visitors really didn’t want. I would think that first putting the word out that you are floundering and asking folks to come in and support your store more would be a first move as I would be more inclined to support that effort, rather than a fund raiser, but I don’t have their accounting ledger in front of me, so what do I know.
i agree with all of the above statements. poor design, awful selection…many better places to shop in my opinion.
People talk about this bookstore like it has been here for 30 years as an institution. If Oxford Books couldn’t be saved on Peachtree Road in the heart of metro Atlanta in an era of no or lesser internet competition, how can Decatur save Wordsmith?
How can a donor be sure that the donation will go towards debt and not towards cash purchase of inventory for the Book Festival weekend?
Wordsmiths’ story just made NPR:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93510032