Last weekend I took a mini-vacation down to my former home of Charlottesville, Virginia. Besides being blessed with breathtaking scenery, Charlottesville also boasts more great bookstores than you might expect from a town of its size (ah, university towns). I thought I'd take a moment to plug my favorite, Heartwood Books.
I can't remember the first time I went to Heartwood after arriving in Charlottesville, I only know that poring over the many books there soon became one of my favorite activities on the Corner. I always enjoyed their selection as well as the friendly, low-key atmosphere. It's not a huge store, but the place is stuffed to the gills with old books (they're piled up on the floor), and how can any booklover resist that? There is always, always something to buy there - it's a bit dangerous in that way!
One of my favorite purchases from Heartwood is a book I still have never read: Nicodemus by Edwin Arlington Robinson. I bought it solely for the inscription. I'll have to paraphrase, since I don't have the book with me right now: "Merry Christmas to Arch, the nicest man we know." There's something so Frank Capra about that, isn't there? I felt like it needed a home - I'm sentimental, I know.
Upon my last visit, I bought two books: Burr by Gore Vidal and The White Lioness by Henning Mankell. I'm reading the latter now; it's one of the Wallander books, which I'm very excited to have found.
So, next time you're lucky enough to be in the Charlottesville area...
Heartwood Books
5 Elliewood Avenue
(On the Corner, across from the on-hiatus Biltmore Grill)
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