Discover the unique charm of Alabama Booksmith, a Birmingham bookstore that exclusively sells signed first editions. A candid review exploring what makes this spot special, strange, and worth visiting — or skipping.
The Reasoning
I am not a fussy bibliophile. I grew up only being able to afford paperback books. As an adult, I try to purchase more hardback books of authors I love, but even I realize the monetary sacrifice it takes to spend money on hardbacks. When I researched bookstores to visit this summer, I almost passed on Alabama Booksmith. It felt a little fussy and pretentious to only sell signed first edition books. Even their website looked fussy and the design for the bookstore made me feel like I might not belong there. I decided to keep it on the list though because their website stated that they sell at publisher prices.
When I was in Birmingham in June, I originally passed it up to go to The Little Professor instead, which was wonderful. Feel free to read my review here. So I didn’t have time to go to The Alabama Booksmith since Birmingham was a one day stop. Through a quirky moment of fate and weather though, I was forced to switch camping spots and got a second round of Birmingham this summer. Since I had an additional day, I went to the arboretum (which is amazing) and then stopped into the bookshop.
First Impressions
This is a strange bookstore to get to. You go down this alley, and drive up this hill with a weird parking lot. It looks like a house, but the sign is there. Once you get into the place, you recognize it as a bookstore, but you might miss it from the outside. Please don’t let the first impression fool you. This is a serious bookshop.
There is a long counter to the front, and you can go behind the counter to look at some of the editions there. However, all of the editions behind the counter can be found in the main room of the bookstore. The counter is to your right as you walk in, and there are two rooms to your left with the main books. Once you get to the end of the second room, you circle back through a large room/hallway/ramp to get back to the counter.
Set up
This is a bookstore for visual lovers. Each book has a stand where you can clearly see the front cover of the book. Then you have additional copies either behind or underneath the stand. You can wander the rooms and see every cover of every book they have. That is a feature that I fully enjoyed. The shelves are tall, but do not require ladders to get to materials, and there are square tables in the center of the rooms. The square tables have the bookstands and books underneath.
However, while it was great to see every book available, it works if you only pick up a book or two. There wasn’t enough room on each side of the book for me to put down a book so that I could read the next book. I found it frustrating to be holding a book, see a book I wanted to read and then finding no space to place the book I was planning to buy.
The bookstands got old quickly for me while shopping since I kept getting books hung up on them. I dropped them more than once trying to read a book (so clumsy). Part of my problem could be that I am a person who goes hog wild in bookstores (My to be read list is very long). Eventually I settled on making a stack at the counter, which meant I ran back each time to put a book on my stack. A little irritating to be sure.
Genres
The shelves are not arranged like your typical bookstore. I tried to find a rhythm to how the books were organized. It didn’t seem to be by genre or author. Since I am a book wanderer by nature, I didn’t think about categories or genres while I was shopping, but I realized when I was at the cash register that the genres were all over the map. Political thrillers were next to memoirs and next to cookbooks.
There was no children’s section or middle school or YA. There were a few of each type scattered throughout, but only maybe a handful. The books tend to be fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and mystery sections. Other genres had maybe one or two books at the most.
When you come up the ramp to go back to the counter, there is a little area of special editions. There was a three book volume of Austen Letters and a special edition of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett among others. Around the special editions there is a tab to keep people from opening the books. The bookseller will allow you to look at the book if asked. I did look at The Secret Garden, and it was a spectacular edition. It was lower priced than I expected. However, I couldn’t justify the cost when I have a couple of well loved editions at home. I also had a stack of books at the counter to pay for.
Bookseller
While the website might read pretentious, the bookseller working the floor was far from it. She was an extremely helpful lady. She encouraged me to make a stack and let me peruse in peace. We had a fantastic conversation at the cash register, and she was very helpful with the first editions I wanted to look at. I could see her pride in the bookstore and she was a wonderful source of knowledge on how the bookstore operated. They have author meetings and signings. There is a first edition club that I could join and then do ship all around the United States.
Final Thoughts
I found a lot of books I love, but navigating this store was a little strange. Between the bookstands and the mixed up genres/authors, I felt a little lost. While the inside was welcoming, a part of me didn’t feel like I belonged. Instead, I felt like I was in a show room and not a bookstore.
I did leave with about ten books, and my wallet much lighter (although not as badly as it should have considering signed hardbacks). On my bookshelf is now a signed copy of a book written by Gregory Maguire (author of Wicked). I never believed that I would get to see his signature, never mind owning a book with it. There is something special about a beautiful hardback signed by an author. I am fawning over the books I got.
However, I am not sure that I would go back. I might suggest that friends and family look at the website and order me a special edition for a special occasion. But I can’t see myself spending time scrolling their website or going out of the way to stop in. Ultimately, I don’t think it was the bookstore for me. But if you are looking for a special gift for that bibliophile and you want it to be a hardback signed copy, then check them out.
Find Them!
Location: 2626 19th Place South Birmingham, AL 35209
Website: https://www.alabamabooksmith.com/
For more independent bookstore reviews head over to my traveling teacher page!
