Parnassus Books in Nashville
If I told you that we'd be visiting one of the country's signature independent bookstores while stopping in Nashville, you might have high expectations. However, if we’re already driving around the Green Hills neighborhood of the southern city, and I offhandedly say, 'hey, let's stop in this plaza, there's a good bookstore here', you might be less prepared for what you're about to see.
Because we live in a world, where we get to tell stories, both can be true.
Parnassus Books is most associated with one of its founders, author Ann Patchett. It’s easy to find glowing reviews of the bookstore and the line above is from a profile of Ann in Fortune magazine. The store opened in 2011, and per its own website aspires to be “a refuge for Nashvillians of all ages who share in our love of the written word.”
I spent a lot of time in Nashville years ago, as my company’s office was just up the street. I stopped for lunch a few times in that plaza, so I was more than excited when the bookstore opened. I knew then it was associated with a famous author, but it was years later before I realized it was Ann Patchett, and a decade and a half before I made it back there to check out how things were going.
I’ve included a few photos here of the store, but it’s hard to capture in a picture what makes a bookstore special. The simple reason is that rows of bookshelves look sort-of-ordinary from a distance. Plus, we encounter bookshelves at young age, in school, and maybe take them for granted. But when even a single shelf of books has been selected (curated) by someone who knows, entire worlds can be casually stacked spine-out, in a way that lets close observation reveal their magic.
Parnassus Books is twice as big as I remember—I assume this is from expansion. Nashville is a massive and growing economic hub—that also has a long intellectual tradition with its many colleges and universities. Plus, there are many churches—full of people are serious about their faith—and you pass at least half-a-dozen steeples driving from I-440 down to the bottom of the hill along Hillsboro Pike. If you know Nashville, this is no surprise.
My second observation about Parnassus is that it’s full of people. It seemed like quite a few worked there, but mid-day on Wednesday the place was busy. As we walked from second to second, I was pleased by the their selections. Oh, they have that. And that.
In the end, we left with Ann’s new book Whistler, and a t-shirt. Our time in Nashville was short, as we were on the way to Memphis.
Before driving away, I crossed the lot to take a picture of the clock tower building you see below. Years ago, this was the site of David-Kidd books, a massive independent bookstore that held its own, back in the day of giant book retailers. Long gone and mostly forgotten, I’m sure. However, with Parnassus right across the street, the book tradition in Green Hills lives on.
