Like a butterfly attracted to a brightly colored nectar plant, I flutter into bookstores, heart racing a bit fast, and eager to sip new things.
I confess my step gets a little extra skip in it when I see an independent bookstore blooming in a funky building. Independent bookstores also fit in well with supporting local businesses and I’m trying to do just that.
Inkwood Books resides in a pale yellow1920’s bungalow with aqua trim located near Hyde Park in Tampa. Right across the street a two-story building is going up – this will be Publix Supermarket’s first organic supermarket. Hum, organic food on one side, books on the other . . .
Walking in the door on Tuesday morning, I was greeted with smiles and “Welcome”. Right ahead of me were a couple, regulars, and they were greeted by name.
I turn left into what may have once been the parlor. Bookshelves fill the walls from floor to ceiling. A large table has books displayed and, what’s this? A small plate of chocolate chip cookies sits on the table. It is not a prop. These are real. Next to the plate stands a gentlemen with silver hair thumbing through a book and munching on a cookie.
I wander on, past fiction, non-fiction, through another room, perhaps the old dining room. I soak up colors, book covers and the wonderful smell of new books. Also I’ve got an eye out for the Floridana section to see if they carry my travel guide 50 Great Walks in Florida, published by University Press of Florida, February, 2008, part of their Wild Florida series. Yes, it is part of my new life to visit bookstores and check the shelves. This is not a chore for me!
Ahead of me is a small round table with a sign 
saying, “Celebrate Spring”. The books are artfully arranged on top and, I’m not making this up, 50 Great Walks in Florida is on the table. Honest! I took a picture or you wouldn’t believe me. (book is upper middle on the left next to the roses).
Then I meet Leslie Reiner, her arms full of books ready to be shelved. Leslie and her sister Carla Jimenez are co-owners for the past 17 years of Inkwood Books at 216 South Armenia Avenue in Tampa.
When I asked Leslie what she likes best about having an independent bookstore she says immediately “The people.” It is so obvious customers are like family (pass the cookies please). Not only do they know what books customers want, the owners themselves, since it is an independent bookstore, get to put their personal stamp on things.
“We get to choose things that are meaningful to us,” Leslie says, “Not like the big box stores where corporate headquarters tell you what books to carry.”
Inkwood has close relations with local schools including St. John Greek Orthodox Day School, where I was earlier in the day, having been asked by their Friends of the Library to speak to parents about 50 Great Walks (see marquee sign, Liz Prokosch took the the picture).
We met for the talk/slide show in the school library, an upbeat place that has a flat-bottomed jon boat brightly painted and outfitted with big pillows. The perfect place for reading. I often wonder why kids have all the fun. Can’t adults have a jon boat to read in too?
At Inkwood I signed copies of my book and Leslie inserted a card saying “Signed by the author”. We were both smiling.
I bought Mirage by Cynthia Barnett, a grim but beautifully written book on Florida and the vanishing water crisis. On the way out more people were coming in. They were greeted by name. Ah, my kind of place. Here are several more independent bookstores in Florida that are like nectar to a butterfly for me:
Books Inc. and Book Lovers Café in Gainesville has floor to ceiling old and new books in a former residence at 505 NW 13th Street, Gainesville. I really like browsing through the cookbook section, conveniently located next to the Café.
Phil and Anne Haisley started Books Inc. in their home in Indiana, and then brought the store with them to Gainesville. The addition of a vegetarian café, utilizing the home’s kitchen, led to the store’s motto: “Come for the books. Stay for the food.”
Dale Julien has Downtown Books in an old storefront at 67 Commerce Street in Apalachicola. A display of current best sellers caught my eye and I ended up with The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards. A book you cannot put down. I should know, I was up until 3 a.m. reading, aggggg…..
The latest issue of Writers Digest has Literary Hot Spots – not surprisingly, independent bookstores take the lead. Like Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle and Books & Books in Coral Gables. The hot spots are online too.
The independent bookstores that speak to me could easily have the motto: “Come for the books. Stay for the ambiance.” Now if they have coffee, I may never leave.
Lucy Beebe Tobias is a writer, photographer and artist in Ocala, Florida. She is the Authentic Florida Expert for Visit Florida.