J is for Joseph #AtoZChallenge

Join me on the A to Z Challenge: I'll share a different thing from my new home, Cincinnati, every day for 26 days in April.

Joseph-Beth, actually, and Joseph-Beth Booksellers, to be as precise and unsurprising as possible. A few weeks ago on a Friday night, I thought, "Why sit here when there's a bookstore I haven't been to yet?" and I jumped on a bus and went. Yes, really. That's the sort of thing I think to myself on a Friday night.

Y'all. It was love at first sight. I have a running list* of my favourite independent bookstores in the world, and Joseph-Beth has not joined the list so much as barrelled its way in, knocking books off of shelves as it went. (It's still behind BookPeople and the Strand, though. Those are sacred spaces in my heart.)

I'd been inside for about three minutes when I saw this, which I promptly posted on all my social accounts:

It's like they knew I was coming, y'all.
And as if this weren't enough, they had the
Hamilton cast album (the clean version, obvs)
playing, and two employees in my earshot
were having a lengthy discussion about it.
My people are clearly hanging out at Joseph-Beth.

And I said:

Also at @JosephBethCincy. I am in love. (It's totally normal to be in love with a bookstore, right?) pic.twitter.com/eQqPzjurZM

— Su Wilcox (@cheekysu) February 4, 2017

And then they said:

@cheekysu Absolutely it is. We're in love with Flourish and Blotts. Totally normal.

— Joseph Beth Books (@JosephBethCincy) February 4, 2017

I should find out whether their social media person is my type. Anyway, you can understand why, when my sister-in-law and niece came to town last weekend, I offered a couple suggestions for what to do with our Friday night, and when the general consensus was "bookstore," we landed in Joseph-Beth. If they'd let me bring a pillow and blanket, I'd move in.

So, if you're planning to come visit me, know that you'll be seeing Joseph-Beth and I won't let you leave until you agree that it's one of the world's great book places.

*In approximate order of current love: BookPeople, Austin; Strand Books, New York; Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati; Bookmamas, Indianapolis; Caledonian Books, Glasgow; Politics and Prose, D.C.; Hester Books, Lubbock; Fountain Square Booksellers, Cincinnati; Books & Brews, Indianapolis.