Wordsworth Books - Little Rock, AR

Wordsworth Books, Little Rock, AR

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Regular readers know that I've been on this journey quite awhile.  In fact, if you're keeping score this one is my 478th bookstore visited.  There are few surprises with the successful indies I visit.  For those new indie owners just starting out, follow the examples set by bookstores like Wordsworth Books in Little Rock.

Wordsworth has things figured out and has been doing the extraordinary for 30+ years.  The recipe for success?  It starts with a knowledgeable and friendly staff.  People like Kandi and Karen, along with two of the three co-owners Lia and Lynne fit this description perfectly.  After this, the extraordinary is really ordinary for the successful bookstores.  Wordsworth has a great space for events with a raised dais for a speaker and a long space easily converted to seating thanks to bookshelves on wheels.  A wide variety of sidelines that include bestsellers like greeting cards, wacky socks, and an assortment of soaps.  A solid group of regular customers as well as frequent out-of-towners (one of the regulars turned to me as she was buying a book and endorsed Wordsworth Books as a great store).  A healthy inventory of all new books that can be purchased by visiting the store or online.  Numerous bookstore book clubs with their books prominently displayed.  And tied in with the fine staff I mentioned, superior customer service.  It's this emphasis on customer service that brought many indies through the pandemic shut down.  The store offered curbside service and home delivery, something that was offered by many others.  They were also sustained by outstanding puzzle sales, another common denominator with many other successful bookstores.

Lia told me the store is in its 3rd or 4th ownership depending on how you look at it.  Lia, Lynne, and Tom have been here for about three years now and it looks like nothing but smooth sailing to me.  If you're in Little Rock and haven't been to this bookstore yet (are you under a ROCK?!) (pun intended), what gives?  Ok, you're forgiven but NOW you know about it if you're reading this.  This store probably has 2nd or 3rd generation descendants of regulars so you new customers will have some catching up to do.  Pay a visit to Wordsworth Books and discover why it is an award-winning business beloved for decades in the Little Rock community.  Go to an indie and buy a book.  Bonsoir.

JUST FINISHED:  The Last Confessions Of Sylvia P., Lee Kravetz.  This book is not due out until early 2022.  If you're a Sylvia Plath fan, you will enjoy this one but I would encourage you to read or reread The Bell Jar first.  This book is labeled fiction but there may be some threads of truth.  Three different perspectives converging at once:  Two movers find a lost manuscript in the closet of an empty house.  Is it the lost manuscript of The Bell Jar?  A rival poet of Sylvia's battles for the attention of their poetry professor in weekly seminars with other poets and becomes obsessed with topping her.  And a doctor at Sylvia's insane asylum tries to help her battle her demons.  By the end, the three plots cross in an interesting way. 

CURRENTLY READING:  Home Front, Melinda B. Hipple. 

RECENTLY PURCHASED:  3 New Yorker cartoon note pads.   

A great place outside the store to sit and have a book chat. 

Attractive front window display. 

I love seeing all of the Christmas "book" trees. 

View looking into the store from the front entrance. 

Seasonal table display for young readers right inside the entrance. 

Display of NY Times bestsellers. 

Some super new Beatles books out this holiday season. 

Against the wall to the left from the front entrance, magazines and puzzles. 

The left wall of the store is a great place to start browsing. 

Looking toward the right side of the store from the front entrance.  There are basically two long rooms of the store separated by the checkout counter shown above. 

This is merely a fraction of the gifts you'll find. 

I always enjoy seeing the book-themed candles. 

Find out what the local book clubs are reading. 

A few of the greeting cards offered. 

If it's too cold to sit outside in the rocking chairs, consider sitting here to have that book chat. 

This is the right side of the store, front to back.  The bookshelves in the center are on wheels and can be rolled away making this a great seating area for events. 

Staff picks display. 

You can find staff picks throughout the store by those paper tabs, shelf-talkers, hanging from the shelves. 

Partial view of the children's section. 

Display of middle grade bestsellers. 

Every store I visit that sells the wacky socks tells me that they sell well. 

Check out the bargains in the sale corner. 

Overview of the store looking from the back toward the front entrance. 

The reading glasses you find in bookstores offer many more styles than those found in the discount department stores. 

An umbrella in the shape of a wine bottle.  Hadn't seen this one yet. 

I didn't need to see this to know that Wordsworth is an award-winning bookstore. 

With Lia, one of the fine co-owners at Wordsworth Books.  Thanks for a great visit.