Bound Together
Explore walls of books in these cozy nooks
There are still places you can go to touch physical pages, fan them slightly, and allow the familiar scent of binding glue and ink to work their magic. Let’s explore a few, shall we?
By Beth Peterson
“Something there is,” according to Robert Frost, “that doesn’t love a wall.”
Once upon a time, that was true. Nowadays, there is something that doesn’t hate them. Loves them, in fact. Builds them without our help at all.
Frost lamented the isolation he felt, despite the obviously good and practical purposes of a wall. How much more would he decry the wall that technology builds around us every day? How much more would he marvel—and not in a good way—at the ability of this wall to build itself higher and higher?
Yet something there is, in 2025, that adores a wall. A wall of books.
Tearing down the kind of wall that even Frost’s aloof neighbor would have abhorred, independently owned bookstores across the Southeast are proving they are not just relics of days gone by, but important bastions in building back true community.
There are still places you can go to touch physical pages, fan them slightly, and allow the familiar scent of binding glue and ink to work their magic. Let’s explore a few, shall we?
South Carolina
Nestled among live oak tree branches and curtains of Spanish moss, NeverMore Books in Beaufort does justice to the word “independent.” Fans of the eclectic will find it tickles their “quirky bone,” as gargoyles and crow figurines lurk from atop antique bookcases stuffed full of well-curated new and antique books. Be sure to check out their room devoted to vintage vinyl.
Jack’s Books in Florence is cozy, intimate, and inviting. You’ll find—as the shop’s website so aptly states—“stories you can’t wait to enter, from a store you won’t want to leave.” Whether it’s the sliding bookcase ladder or the pressed-tin ceiling, simply walking into this whimsical shop imparts a pensive, imaginative feeling worthy of an encounter with a brooding Heathcliff or a perpetually hopeful Anne Shirley.
Georgia
Don’t miss Newnan Book Co. in Newnan, Georgia. Lighter and brighter than many of its contemporaries, this airy store offers sassy gifts, serious reads, and ample seating on which to snuggle up with your next favorite read. Locals gather for book clubs and talks, and craft-inspired events such as “book bedazzling.”
Southeast of Newnan, you’ll find Pretty Good Books in LaGrange. Renowned for used as much as new books, locals flock to its “grand parlor” for lecture series and book clubs. The shop cat, Poe, serves as a mascot of sorts, but he is purrfectly well-behaved, friendly, and beloved by shoppers. One patron hilariously stated that Pretty Good Books is their “favorite used bookstore in Alabama—and it’s not even in Alabama!”
