The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: a memoir of friendship, community, and the uncommon pleasure of a good book

Single sentence review: I would prefer to visit the bookstore than read about it.

Longer review: Wendy Welch and her husband Jack decide to open a used bookstore in a small Virginia town. Everyone thinks they are nuts. No one expects it to last. Their resources were few. At first they mostly relied on their own books and yard sale books. When they open, they also begin receiving books for trade. She recounts their difficulties. My favorite chapter in the book gave details on a multi-state bookstore tour they made. She gave high praise to Square Books and to the town of Oxford, Mississippi, which made me very happy since it is in my home state and is a place I enjoy visiting when I'm in Oxford. The book bogs down a bit in the details of show more owning and operating a bookstore, but I suspect it might be attractive to someone considering going into the used book business. One chapter is a list of recommended reads. I questioned some of the choices and agreed with others. Ultimately I would rather be browsing the shelves of the bookstore while petting one of those adorable foster kittens in their online virtual tour than reading about it. Fortunately it's not that long of a drive, so I may actually be able to visit. show less

THE LITTLE BOOKSTORE OF BIG STONE GAP is a purely delightful little book, especially if you love books and bookstores. Most readers will recognize the town name from the books of Adriana Trigiani, who gets only the briefest mention here - she was gracious enough to attend the author's grand opening. But Wendy Welch takes you on a humorous, bumpy, very down-to-earth ride of her fulfilling a dream (shared by her Scottish husband) of owning a used bookstore. Her writing is direct and natural, revealing a woman whose love of books and reading just may equal my own. I knew this when she wrote that "books are more than words on the page. They mark the important moments in our life journeys." Well said, Wendy. Oh, and by the way, I bought this show more book used. And I will recommend it very highly.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER show less

So here's a deep, dark secret: I would love to own a bookstore someday.

I have this bookstore planned out in my mind almost to the last detail, although I sometimes fluctuate between whether to go all-inclusive or specialise in mystery fiction and also between all new books or a combination new/used.

All of this to say that when Nothing Better than a Good Book mentioned this memoir of a couple starting a used bookstore in a small Virginia town, I had to go out and immediately order it. This was a great opportunity to read about someone else's experience trying to do the same thing I daydream about doing myself someday .

I found a lot of good stuff in here. A lot of things I knew, being the child of a shop (flower) owner and the wife of show more a business owner, but a lot of stuff too that I never took into account, like the amount of emotional baggage that can often accompany a crateful of used books or just how much a bookshop can become a community center.

There's also a fair amount of philosophising most of which was interesting and some of it a little bit defensive but all of it mostly spot-on. Most of her defensiveness comes up when talking about ebooks and really, any bookseller would get defensive on this topic because people insist on viewing 'ebooks vs. paper' as a competition instead of what it is: a choice, an option. I understand where she's coming from, but she protested just a bit too much.

This is solidly a memoir about starting a bookshop and it's on the meatier side of the spectrum; it wasn't a slog at all but it wasn't a quick read either. I had sort of expected her to veer off topic once in awhile but the focus remained tightly on starting the bookshop and the first five years of keeping it running. I found it highly informative and interesting. Now if I can just get my husband to read it.... show less

A wonderful surprise. As a librarian in the region, I am expected to wade through "local writing" that is varying degrees of horrendous, but the writing in this book is a delight. The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap is about much more than starting and maintaining a bookstore, and the fascinations of the bluestocking life in general. It's about making new friends in small towns where outsiders might normally be unwelcome, about how to adapt to and even contribute to a unique culture, and about how--having done the family thing right--to craft a life for your family that fits, even if that life is in a tiny town in the mountains of Virginia. Making a life that answers the cries of our souls is something that few of us are privileged to show more do.

I have visited the bookstore personally and it is an astonishingly quirky little browser's paradise--like walking into a place you have seen often in your dreams. If you see the bookstore first, the book will seem familiar, and if you read the book first, you'll feel you've already been in the little bookstore. show less

This book, frankly, was a surprise for me. I picked it up and agreed to review it mostly because I am a sucker for books about books and bookish people. What I didn’t expect was that it would actually be so well written, solidly edited, funny, heart-warming, and informative.

Wendy Welch and her Scottish husband, Jack Beck, bought a charming, huge Victorian home in the town of Big Stone Gap, West Virginia, with the sole intent of transforming it into a used bookstore. Unfortunately, they had a couple of things working against them. Big Stone Gap is not exactly an area that welcomes strangers into its midst and its economically depressed state does not make it a prime zone in which to open a business. However, the Beck-Welch team was show more undaunted and Wendy, in her breezy, humorous style carries her readers through their many experiences as they built their inventory of books and friendships.

Perhaps what sets this book above others of its kind is the added insight that Wendy gives into some of the lesser know aspects of owning a bookstore. I love the stories she tells about the more emotional aspects, such as those people who bring in book collections of those loved ones who have passed away, and what it is like to be the store owner who must on the one hand transact the business of divesting the bereaved of the books, but on the other hand be sensitive to the fact that this is a part of a loved one that the person is letting go of. There are many, many such personal stories in this book, each of them singular and touching and showing a different aspect of their lives not only as owners of the bookstore, but as members of their unique community. I mistakenly assumed that life in a small town bookstore would become routine and expected the book might get a bit soporific at times, but Wendy showed me that their life is full of rich relationships and lessons learned, and I enjoyed the chance to experience Big Stone Gap and their book store right along side them.

Wendy and her husband also use their bookstore to host many other types of activities that enriched their community, and her sharing these events adds a good deal of interest to the book. In addition, Jack and Wendy went on a tour of other indie bookstores, the narrative of which makes for some good reading. Finally, she shares lots of reviews of her favorite books to recommend, as you might expect from someone who spends her days surrounded by and selling books.

This is a solid read about a couple with a dream, how their marriage weathers the making of their business, life in a small town, friendship, selling books, and a few life lessons learned along the way. Wendy’s lovely writing will touch your heart and your funny bone in turns, making this a read for many moods. I definitely recommend this one. show less

A memoir about the experiences of the author and her husband opening and running a used bookstore in a small town in the Appalachians. She talks about pretty much everything you can imagine a small-town bookstore owner might have to talk about: the struggles it took to get the business off the ground, the headaches of small-town politics and the warmth of small-town community, the day-to-day details of a bookseller's life, thoughts on books and bookselling and the role of used books and print books in today's world, personal anecdotes and stories (some amusing, some heart-warming, some sad) about customers who come to the shop to buy and trade or just to talk. And probably a lot more stuff that I'm forgetting, too.

Through it all, Welch show more comes across as both warm-hearted and level-headed (even if she cheerfully admits that jumping headfirst into this particular business venture was both crazy and naive), and she clearly loves the life she's living and the people she's living it with.

I'm really, really easy for books about bookstores, so I may be biased, but I enjoyed it a lot. Like many (possibly most?) bibliophiles, I've entertained the occasional idle daydream about running a bookstore. Unlike Welch and her husband, I have far too much common sense (and am aware that I have far too little business sense) to ever for a minute consider actually doing it. But living that dream vicariously for a little while through these fine folks -- while they, of course, do all the real-world work! -- was a pleasant experience, and one that's left me smiling. show less

I am sure after reading this, most people would either want to own a second-hand bookstore in a community like Big Stone Gap, or pursue their dreams. You wish you could be like Wendy and Jack, take yourself out of the rat race, and do something you like. Of course, both worked hard to make the bookstore a success and they must be likable people to be accepted by the community. I don't know why the bookstore is now closed but their success story is heartwarming, and keeps dreams and hopes alive. All is good with this book except it got draggy towards the end.