Ann Patchett’s Bookstore
Nashville, TN
As you may well know, The Coach and I have been complaining about the fact that we need to buy new gutters for our house. I had set aside some cash to do it this summer, but alas, I’m going to have to raid the savings account to take a last-minute trip up to Ohio to see the family. I guess it’s a good thing we haven’t had any rain this summer; in fact, it’s been so dry that we’ve decided to put off the gutters until next spring and just use some of our tax return to help cushion the financial blow.
Of course, we didn’t make that decision until after we decided that we should be responsible adults and “staycation” in July instead of taking a big expensive trip out west (which, you know, is what I really wanted to do). Plus, given the fact that Clancy just turned 16, I have this (sort of irrational) fear that the dog might die while being boarded and we had already boarded him once this summer. And, to be honest with you, I didn’t want to put all those miles on my Mustang. The Coach’s car has already topped 175K and next summer, when Sally is all paid off, I plan on giving him my old car so I can get a new Prius (if I can afford it – we’ll see).
Yeah, that’s a long lead in, just to tell you that we did a day trip down to Nashville last Thursday as a part of our staycation adventures.
We had planned to go to the Parthenon, but it took us a while to get out the door, so the trip ended up being a bit, well, “abridged.” Because he is a good sport, The Coach took me shopping at Parnassus Books. That’s Ann Patchett’s independent book store, if you didn’t know that already. In a way, I saw this shopping adventure as a bit of an economic statement against giant corporate bookstores. I know, I know: I shop at both Barnes and Noble and Amazon, but that’s because we don’t have an independent bookstore in this neck of the woods.
Little known fact (or not): In the nine years that we have lived in Evansville, we have gone from three bookstores (Borders, Barnes and Noble, and Books-a-Million) to one. Oh sure, there are a couple Christian bookstores (there’s not for me) and less than a handful of used bookstores (which are okay, but cannot meet all of my reading needs). Since I have a massive book addiction, I get panicked at the thought of BN going under. I mean, what will I do then? What will happen to my need for immediate gratification? It’s true that I have an e-reader, but it’s just not the same thing!
I’ll admit that I was a little worried when we discovered that the bookstore was located in a suburban strip mall instead of being in a funky old house or a chic downtown location. But, as the old saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover. (I know, very pun-like.) The store has a very nice selection of books, from literary fiction to teen novels to the children’s section with its child size entrance that even I was too tall to use. The Coach pointed out a couple of books that piqued my interest – one of which (Iversen’s Full Body Burden) came home with us. I also bought a signed copy of Patchett’s The Patron Saint of Liars because I thought it would be fun to buy an Ann Patchett book in Ann Patchett’s bookstore.
Yes, I am that nerdy.
While I wouldn’t make a second trip down to Nashville just to go book shopping, The Coach and I both agreed that we’d add Parnassus Books to our list of places to stop whenever we are in Nashville for hockey games or concerts, or when we are driving through coming back from a trip down south. But, once The Coach’s paychecks start up again (mid-August), I plan on signing up for the store’s “First Editions Club” so that I can have at least one nice book a month. 
In the Bathroom
The Melting Pot, Nashville
It might seem that our whole trip was focused on acquiring books – and maybe it was – but we also poked our heads into a Ten Thousand Villages where I bought a mouse for my mouse (I’ll take a picture one day) and we found a Bath Junkie where I got some salty almond-tainted foot scrub. More importantly, we got to play with our food again – that’s right, Nashville has a Melting Pot! And, then we just came home because, you know, the dogs needed out and it’s a good two hours home from Nashville.
Final note: I bought a fondue pot when we lived in Chicago, oh, about 15 years ago. It’s still in the damned box. D’oh!
Last month when I was in New Zealand, I came across a book entitled Deer Hunting with Jesus. Published in 2007, the book was written by self-professed socialist and redneck Joe Bageant. Although I thought about buying the book while I was standing in the Christchurch bookstore, I couldn’t bring myself to spend almost $30 on a paperback book which I would then have to haul back across the Pacific Ocean.