Alabama Booksmith — Local services in Homewood

Sept 2022: This place is amazing. Truly a hidden treasure. The owner (yes the actual owner!)-- Jake Reiss-- was in the shop and had a long, delightful conversation with us about our shared history of family book sellers. The Alabama Booksmith is a carefully curated collection of mostly new books, all signed 1st editions-- with surprisingly no upcharge for author's signature! (Except for a few books in their small Collector's Corner section.) I cannot believe I have only just discovered this unique, independent book seller. I cannot wait to attend some readings and signings at special events here. This book store is clean and brightly lit, well-organized, and easy to navigate. (No dusty crowded tumbling stacks here.) The Alabama Booksmith is housed in an unassuming free-standing single-story office building (I think the building was formerly a dentist office?) in Homewood. It is perfectly situated with plenty of parking spaces all around. It is wheelchair accessible. If you have ever loved books, authors, and small local book stores-- I highly recommend you seek out this special place. Jake Reiss has created both a modern evolution and a historical preservation of literary culture in The Alabama...

I have to say that it's the best independent bookseller we have left in Birmingham. Jake (the owner) supports many book-related charities, including the Literacy Council (teaches adult literacy), and seems to show up at just about any literary function around town. I've seen him at Rotary meetings providing books when famous authors speak and dinner parties introducing new authors. Very supporting of the many folks around here who do actually read. My dad, ever the book worm, always loved Jake and the store, and that was always a great recommendation to anyone who cared about books...

Neat one-of-a-kind specialty bookstore tucked away back here that sells signed copies at cover prices. Do they then get resold for higher prices on-line? Hopefully not. There were some gems in there and a nice push for local regional authors' works too. Although I consider myself a bibliophile and a voracious reader, I probably wouldn't come back to just peruse unless it was something very specific (like their Nikki Giovanni book, say) I had in mind. Other authors I've read have name dropped this place so it had been pinned for me for...