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The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book
The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap A Memoir of Friendship Community and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book Author:Wendy Welch An inspiring true story about losing your place, finding your purpose, and building a community one book at a time. Wendy Welch and her husband had always dreamed of owning a bookstore, so when they left their high-octane jobs for a simpler life in an Appalachian coal town, they seized an unexpected opportunity to pursue their dream. The only pr... more »oblems? A declining U.S. economy, a small town with no industry, and the advent of the e-book. They also had no idea how to run a bookstore. Against all odds, but with optimism, the help of their Virginian mountain community, and an abiding love for books, they succeeded in establishing more than a thriving business - they built a community. The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap is the story of the little bookstore that could: how two people, two cats, two dogs, and thirty-eight thousand books helped a small town find its heart. It is a tale of people and books, and how together they create community. « less
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A truly charming memoir of what life is like in a small town for world weary big town escapees, Wendy Welch and her husband Jack Beck. Wendy and Jack buy a very large old home, refurbish it, stock it, and turn an ever- expanding portion of it into a bookstore, having a threadbare budget with which to do all of this. Their trials and tribulations, as well as their joys and highs, make for a heart warming read. The bookstore/home is located in Big Stone Gap, a Virginia mountain community. A major problem was the fact that they had no idea whatsoever of how to run a business, especially a bookstore. Much of the fun in reading this book is in observing their learning process while sympathizing with the bumps in the road along the way.
A truly charming memoir of what life is like in a small town for world weary big town escapees, Wendy Welch and her husband Jack Beck. Wendy and Jack buy a very large old home, refurbish it, stock it, and turn an ever- expanding portion of it into a bookstore, having a threadbare budget with which to do all of this. Their trials and tribulations, as well as their joys and highs, make for a heart warming read. The bookstore/home is located in Big Stone Gap, a Virginia mountain community. A major problem was the fact that they had no idea whatsoever of how to run a business, especially a bookstore. Much of the fun in reading this book is in observing their learning process while sympathizing with the bumps in the road along the way.
Bonnie S. (Bonnie) - reviewed The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book on + 422 more book reviews
I read about this book somewhere and it looked so interesting, and it was. A couple, an older couple, wanted to settle somewhere and fulfill a dream, and one day it hit them, well, what the heck, if we don't do it now...
Thus they went way out on a limb and bought a big old house in the center of Big Stone Gap, Virginia and opened a used book store. Yes, THAT Big Stone Gap of the Adriana Trigiani's series. The Gap never had a bookstore, used or otherwise, and at last, here was one, but it was owned by folks from away. He, actually, was from Scotland. We know how all that can go, trying to get accepted in a small town when your great grandparents weren't first generation citizens, but this couple endeavored to persevere, and with lots of good ideas, and funny anecdotes, she tells us how they did it. That was the best part of the book. When she gets away from the people that make up The Gap, that made the bookstore what it became, the book gets draggy. Actually, she gets unnecessarily wordy. But those parts are worth suffering through to read about the rest, esp the veterans, and a fellow called Wee Willie. Recommended.
Beverly H. (GainesvilleGirl) - 
