One of my favorite discoveries of 2020—and truly, one of the things that has gotten me through the isolation of this year—is Thank You Books. Even while Thank You Books was closed to the public earlier this year, their easy, contactless curbside pickup helped Birmingham keep reading and able to support local small business. Like most bibliophiles, I was dying to get to walk around a bookstore again, but Thank You Books made the waiting bearable and kept people feeling hopeful when we all needed it. 

Thank You Books is co-owned by Kristen Iskandrian, Elizabeth Goodrich, and Laura Cotten, all of whom are delightful presences in the shop and can give spot-on book recommendations no matter what you love to read. I chatted with Kristen about how this lovely indie bookstore came to be.

How did Thank You Books begin? What's your "origin story"?

Kristen: All of us wanted the kind of independent bookstore that we'd valued in other cities we'd lived in and/or visited—Avid, in Athens, Georgia, is really the place through which Laura and I met, became friends, and ultimately decided that we wanted to go into business together. It was a half-baked Facebook status update in (I think) 2016 when I said something like, "I think I want to open a bookstore," and Laura responded, "if you're serious about this I will move back to Birmingham"—she was living in Michigan by then—that marked the unofficial beginning of what was a long planning period. 

My novel came out in 2017 and I spent a lot of time in indie bookstores on my little tour. I'd always loved bookstores, but getting to see how events operations worked from the author standpoint was really exciting and made me want something similar for Birmingham—a place where authors would want to visit on their book tours. Seems crazy to think about now, in the midst of the pandemic, but events were and still are a big part of our ethos. 

In early 2019, through a mutual friend, I met Elizabeth, who'd recently retired as a minister and was doing bookstore research of her own. We instantly clicked and not too long after decided to form our three-way partnership. Each of us brings something different to the table, but we're all committed to the same vision, goals, and values—and, bonus, we all really like spending time with one another. Every day I feel fortunate to do something I love with people I love.

What kinds of events and groups do you host at the shop?

Kristen: We hosted a number of really memorable events in our short time being open—we officially opened our doors in December 2019—before the shutdown occurred. Launches, readings/signings, music, and book clubs were on steady rotation, at least one in-store event per week. We continued to book events during the shutdown, mostly on Zoom, occasionally via Instagram. We've got a few events left for 2020, all of which are listed on the Events page of our website, all of which we're really excited about. And while we're sad that our regular storytime Saturday has been suspended indefinitely in person, we've continued to read stories live via Instagram every Saturday.

Upcoming events:

On 10/15, Pete Beatty will take over our Instagram to chat about his debut novel Cuyahoga. We'll have our two book club meetings in October, too—anyone, anywhere, can tune in—email us (hello@thankyoubookshop.com) for links to the Zoom meetings. And on 11/12, we'll host the paperback launch for Casey Cep's wildly popular Furious Hours—she'll be in conversation with friend of TYB and author of Treeborne, Caleb Johnson. After that, we'll press pause on events until the new year, since we expect (hope!) to be busy with the holiday shopping season.

What do you love most about what you do?

Kristen: I have a PhD in literature and always wanted to spend my life, my career, in books. I can't say I always knew I'd be a business owner—I absolutely did not—but it feels like a dream come true to be surrounded by books every day. Obviously our business model has changed to adapt to the current situation, but my favorite part of owning a bookstore is chatting with customers about books, and seeing people light up about a book they loved (or hated!). I love witnessing those conversations, too—the connections that arise over books. It feels really good to be part of a community-building effort in a city that has come to mean a lot to all of us.

What has been your favorite book of 2020 so far?

Kristen: That's so hard! I'll name a few that came out earlier this year: Drifts by Kate Zambreno, Pew by Catherine Lacey, I Hold a Wolf by the Ears by Laura van den Berg, Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi, Sea Wife by Amity Gaige, A Burning by Megha Majumdar. What a year for incredible books by women. I'm also working my way through the works of Muriel Spark, which are utterly delightful.

Thank You Books is open to the public again, but you can rest assured you’ll feel safe shopping there. They are limiting the number of customers in the store when necessary, and masks are required. (Side note: They sell cute masks, too!) Curbside pickup is also still available. If you’re not in Birmingham, have no fear—TYB offers shipping anywhere in the US. In addition to their incredible catalog of books for adults, they also have a fantastic children’s selection, as well as games, stationery and super cute merch! 

Help support our current featured bookstore by shopping for your next book at thankyoubookshop.com!