I no longer live in Little Rock full time, so my time spent there has become oh so precious. What I have realized more than anything is that I have to make “perfect” trips. I plan where I am going to stay, who I am going to see, where I am going to go. What I have found is that there is simply so much to do in all of those categories that I have had to create “theme” trips.
If you looked at my itineraries, you would find one consistent theme—books. I do not believe that any trip to the Rock is complete without at least one stop to one of my favorite bookstores. It doesn’t matter which one I pick; the stop lasts no less than two hours and ends with me leaving laden with books.
My absolute favorite bookstore in Little Rock is River Market Books & Gifts, part of the Central Arkansas Library System. Located on the Main Library campus in the River Market area, they promote themselves as carrying “gently read” books, collectible books and literary gift items.
This is the kind of bookstore—at least for a book lover—that speaks to some deep, sweet part of your spirit. Your body hums as you walk through the front door into the foyer and up the stairs. With one step through the initial front door, you are met by no less than three stands of books, and not just any books. My last trip there, I had ten in my arms before I had walked away from the front stoop.
The staff is kind, sweet and anything but pushy. They seem to instinctively know who needs help and who, with a glint and intensity in their eyes, is on his or her own book-seeking mission. There is almost always a hello, a wave or both before you can get through the foyer to the inner front door.
Once you finally make it to the main space, you are met with the smell of coffee and sweetness. If you have been loitering in the foyer at the book stands, you have had to suffer through the wonderful aromas every time the door swings open. They have a little bistro tucked into the corner in case you make a day of it (guilty of that). It has everything from coffee and soft drinks to sandwiches and sweet treats.
As you gaze around, you are enveloped; there are stands and bookshelves everywhere. It is nothing short of sensory overload in the greatest of ways! I always gravitate to the Arkansas section, where you can find anything and everything (new, used and treasured). On my last trip, I found a true treasure: Confederate Women of Arkansas, 1861-1865, Memorial Reminiscences, published by The United Confederate Veterans of Arkansas in 1907. It was $35—a high-priced item for this wonderful new and used bookstore but a steal by antique/treasure standards.
If I can drag myself out of that section, or if I haven’t already spent more than my book allowance for the day, I can turn left, right or go straight into another section of book heaven. It is wonderfully segmented by category. Upstairs there are sections for business, cooking, military, etc.
If you have any energy or money left, you must go downstairs into the basement, where you know you are going to be awhile. The staff knows it, too, because they have multiple seating areas for you to relax into when your legs (and arms) finally give way under the strain of books.
With all of the books you would think there would be no room for anything else, but there is. There are new items (literary gifts) tucked everywhere. This is the place to get the notepad, book bag, bookmark, even some original artwork (mainly from local artists), and yes, they will provide you a box to carry your treasures home for those days when a sack is not enough.
Simply put, this is the kind of bookstore that makes book lovers believe they can quit their job, cash in their retirement accounts, start their own corner bookstore and “make it work.” Yes, it is that good.
On a rainy Saturday afternoon in Little Rock, this is the place to go, with its fresh-brewed coffee, yummy treats and bustling staff, the smell of old books in the air and the sight of people lugging around armloads of reading treasures. Here, in the heart of Little Rock and the heart of Arkansas, you can see that the love of books is still alive and well, and that fact alone somehow makes you feel a little bit better about the world we live in.