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Malaprop’s Books

May 11th, 2013 | Posted by Lackey in My Reading Life

A perfect independent bookstore like Malaprop’s makes me want to put a For Sale sign in the front yard and pack up for Asheville, NC. I am pretty serious! I miss living in a town with a book store so much that I wish I could say I have stopped buying books all together. But waking into Malaprops brought out cravings in me – the perfect smell of the coffee brewing, the racks of books with staff favorites, local authors, signed copies! I even relish the extras like greeting cards, reading glasses and goofy magnets that extend my browsing time by a minute or two.


Malaprops is sort of bookstore that is large enough to get lost in. It has plenty of nooks and crannies with comfortable seating that welcome browsers to sit and sample an opening chapter or two.


I would have stayed all day, but this was just just a stop along the way in our travels and when we inquired about a used bookstore and found out there was also one of those around the corner, we realized we had to move along.


I almost got out of there with a single purchase – a copy of Mary Jane Butters’ Glamping book that was to be a present for my sister-in-law in Greenville who was hosting us for the night if we ever got out of Asheville. But I always ask for a staff recommendation when I am in a cool independent bookstore and this time the knowledgable sales girl directed me to How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Moshin Hamid – had I heard of him? Well, of course! Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist was the recommendation for AP summer reading for this year’s senior class that I made on my way out the door to retirement last year. And the Reluctant Fundamentalist movie just came out! So, Hamid had been in Malaprop’s for a reading, the sales girl said she loved the book so much that she keeps re-reading passages, Hamid is back living in Lahore, Pakistan, and she just so happened to have an autographed copy! SALE! Broke my promise and bought it for my AP teaching colleague (sshhhh – it’s a secret – I will give it to her tonight – preread of course).

Almost out the door with two books – right? Until my eyes fell upon the quirky cover of Ron Currie Jr.’s new novel, Flimsy Little Plastic Miracles.. I figured I could read it before we got home and give it to a colleague, too. Which I did. So three books – all gifts – and a wonderful, but too short visit to this perfect bookstore. Hope to return someday, but in the meantime, YOU should check it out. Or at least read Hamid’s book.

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One Response

  • Alsace Walentine says:

    Hello from Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, NC! Thank you, Linda, for posting such complimentary things about us! It is a pleasure to introduce readers to our favorite books. (I recommended the Hamid book.) Can I tell you about my favorite book coming out this summer? David Gilbert’s & SONS is my #1 summer pick. There is a novel within a novel in this one. It is a book for book lovers– about a famous writer (think Salinger) who is at the end of his life. The novel explores, in a humorous way, how this octogenarian’s actions have impacted the young men around him. It is set in one of my favorite places, NYC, specifically in and around Central Park. This is another I’ll be reading more than once! Here are my other recommendations– http://www.malaprops.com/alsaces-favs

    Thanks again, Linda, for taking the time to post about us. Nice pics, by the way!

    -Alsace, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe



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