Over the Chrismas holidays, while all of us ate, drank and made merry, a knife was stuck in between the ribs of the best bookstore in Houston, and it quietly closed down.
Farewell to the Alabama Bookstore, the best bookstore in Houston for many years. Housed in an old theater, it was a book-browser's and buyer's heaven. I can't count the hours I spent wandering up and down the gentle slope of the former main aisle of the theater, looking and reading and buying my heart out. When I was pregnant with One, Husband and I hauled bags and bags of books out of there, eager to turn our firstborn into a lover of books (ed: hey - it worked). When One (and then Two) grew older, we discovered it had the best children's book selection in town. Even after it was taken over by Barnes and Noble, it retained much of its character - and it always - always - had a much finer selection than any other bookstore in town.
Now it is gone, presumably due to the proximity of a new 40 billion square foot bookstore on West Grey. Hopefully someone as visionary as the original Alabama Bookstore people will take over the space and make something as interesting and good out of it. One can, of course, always pray for a miracle.
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