Book Event: Avid Bookshop Grand Opening

Originally, I was suppose to be in Texas for the Austin Book Festival this weekend. However, plans fell through. But lucky for me, my local town is providing a variety of book related events this weekend. Last night, I attended the Grand Opening of an independent bookstore: Avid Bookshop.

I arrived just a few minutes before 7:00 pm when the doors where set to open and there was already a crowd gathering outside. People of all ages where arriving for this event, many from the surrounding neighborhoods. When the doors opened with a dramatic flair the crowd surged forward.

As I entered, I could see owner Janet Geddis wiping tears from her eyes as she greeted the eager clients. She lives in the surrounding community and I'm sure many are her neighbors, friends, and excited supporters. Looking around the large crowd, I could see many greeting one another with hugs and warm welcome.

As you can see the crowd was large. On Friday afternoon, the Facebook invite page had 133 people listed as attending. Amidst the hub-bub, everyone wanting to congratulate Janet, I was able to get a quick with her. When asked about how she felt about finally opening the bookstore after several years of planning, she said it was "amazing... surreal", and just as she always imagined it. 

Avid Bookshop has a little bit of everything. I didn't really see much in the way of local authors' work, which was a little disappointing in a neighborhood bookstore. But if you are looking for the mainstream, popular titles for children, middle grades, young adult, and adult there was quite the selection.

The evening wound down with a reading from local writing group New Town Revue and the illumination of the permanent art installation in the children's area.

I had a great time. I mentioned my blog to a few people and even did a little scouting for the publishing house. Then I came home and like a typical book lover, I curled up in bed with a cup of hot cocoa and a book.

I'm off to another literary event this afternoon. The Northeast Georgia Reading Council is hosting a Family Day to celebrate literacy at the local Barnes & Noble. There are a couple of open mic times, so I'm hoping to do a little more scouting and then my friend and author William j. Barry will be reading from his book Sebastian and the Afterlife.