When Tallulah was 5 or less, my Sweet Lady went out of town for one reason or another. Tallulah was pretty upset about this, but she got over it when I promised we could do something really special. I mean, really special. We would go to Mr. Lewis’s bookstore, and she could pick out any book she wanted. Any book at all. She picked a classic of juvenile literature: Tickle The Duck. Never heard of it? Neither had I, and I was a bit embarrassed when we took it to the counter of Accent on Books because I wanted to be buying more solid kid lit.
But Lewis Sorrels would not have been selling the book if he did not think it was a good one, and Tallulah knows her stuff. The weekend went by much quicker with the entertainment provided by Tickle the Duck and it has come out of the bookshelf time and again when what we need is a good laugh. Laughs can be very therapeutic, don’t you know. Sometimes they are spiritual in nature even.
But there is nothing to laugh about in the thought that Accent on Books may not make it to 2012. It’s true, though. This little book store in the lower level of Grace Plaza on North Merrimon Avenue is in danger of going the way of so many great independent book stores after 28 years of service to Asheville. Does service sound melodramatic? It shouldn’t because I think we all know that independent booksellers are not making a fortune over here. What these guys have to do is to find their “niche.”
Accent on Books’ niche is more of a grotto, really. You know grottoes, right? Little cave kind of places where pilgrims go. Not the funny hat / blunderbuss kind, but the seekers. Seekers go to Accent On Books because they do a good job of stocking, among other things, books on religion and spirituality, on faith and doubt. I’m not talking about the Lifeways Christian Bookstore or Age of Aquarius Books. I’m talking about the kind of books you would want to read if you really wanted to examine what it means to have faith, including faith in the belief that there is no god. True intellectual pursuit of belief can, unfortunately, be damn hard to come by. Without Accent On Books, it would be that much harder in Asheville.
And the world would be left with one fewer booksellers, one fewer independent businesses in our community. The good news is, however, that it’s not too late. You can still participate in the life of Accent On Books. Go on down this Saturday, November 26, and be a part of the Cash Mob. Buy a book. Hell, buy two. If you can’t go on Saturday, go another day. Just go soon. We know better than to allow a great local business to disappear.