Book Haul on a Binge at Midtown Reader
While I love the thrill of a budget-friendly book haul, every so often I splurge at a local indie shop or Barnes & Noble. We all have our vices, and mine are of a literary propensity. Between thrifting runs and secondhand finds, I’ll wander into a funky bookstore and drop a cool C-note on hardcovers.
I allowed myself a binge on a recent trip to a Tallahassee bookshop named…
Midtown Reader
Midtown Reader is an adorable little bookstore. I wish I could come up with a better word, but it’s just so darn cute. Its charm greets you before you enter as you pull into the parking lot. The shop is conveniently situated off a country road in what appears to have once been a cottage.
One step over the threshold and I was whisked away to a book boutique filled with wonder and whimsy. What it lacks in square footage, it makes up for with color and display.
A Visual Pleasure
Tall bookshelves move your eye upward, making the space seem larger. I sent the owner a telepathic nod of accord when I noticed the first display dedicated to Florida. Current political upheavals notwithstanding, Florida is a beautiful state, and I wound up spending a lot of time in this section.
The store is brightly lit, the genres are easy to locate, and all throughout the shop are little note cards with recommendations and employee reviews. I know this is done at the big box stores, but it felt very personal at the Midtown Reader.
The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, but I have to give a special shout-out to Tanya, who was welcoming and attentive without being pushy; sweet and informative, without presumption, and I stayed a good 30 minutes longer, romanticizing with her about all things literary.
I quickly made use of a cozy sofa perfect for lengthy decision-making. Carrying a 10-book shortlist, I needed to pare down even further. Serious cuts had to be made, and I wound up with a respectable three.
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The Chosen Ones
Sunshine State
by Sarah Gerard
I chose this book based on Tanya’s specific recommendation. She saw me leafing through a different book about life in Florida and immediately offered me this one instead. She said, “It’s an amazing read,” and it must be from all the buzz I’ve read about it. I’m very much looking forward to settling into this with reviews such as “unflinchingly candid memoir…A nuanced and subtly intimate mosaic…her writing, lucid yet atmospheric…“ — Jason Heller, NPR.org and, “These large-hearted, meticulous essays offer an uncanny x-ray of our national psyche…” — Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You.
Mr. Rochester
by Sarah Shoemaker
I can’t remember how old I was when I first read Jane Eyre, but I couldn’t have been more than 14. Since then, though its characters are terribly flawed, Charlotte Brontë’s hauntingly beautiful novel has long been a favorite of mine. Her style and voice seem frustratingly controlled on their slow burn toward exquisite heartbreak.
I must have read it a hundred times and consider it a longtime best friend, and now I seek to demystify Jane’s love interest. Mr. Edward Fairfax Rochester is an impenetrable character and a man of very few words. He’s dark and brooding, but a puzzle I never quite figured out. So, I couldn’t resist this story, a peek behind the curtain of his enigmatic point of view.
The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs
by Tristan Gooley
Deep in the Information Age as we are, I am ready for this book that teaches how to read nature’s signs, as one did centuries ago, to detect and glean information from the world around you. The Back of the Book states…
“When writer and navigator Tristan Gooley journeys outside, he sees a natural world filled with clues. The roots of a tree indicate the sun’s direction; the Big Dipper tells the time; a passing butterfly hints at the weather; a sand dune reveals prevailing wind; the scent of cinnamon suggests altitude; a budding flower points south. To help you understand nature as he does, Gooley shares more than 850 tips for forecasting, tracking, and more, gathered from decades spent walking the landscape around his home and around the world. Whether you’re walking in the country or city, along a coastline, or by night, this is the ultimate resource on what the land, sun, moon, stars, plants, animals, and clouds can reveal—if you only know how to look!”
In the end, splurging on books never feels wasteful—it feels like investing in wonder, one tome at a time
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Until next time,
Cynthia M. Hall
Writer • Editor • Creative Guide
Changing the World One Word at a Time
