I had a feeling that the book swap Saturday night at The Corner Coffeehouse would have a big draw — and still I managed to arrive later than most of the book-lovers looking for something to do on the weekend. There’s no telling what gems I missed that others picked from one of the tables loaded down with bestsellers, classics and obscure little wonders.
I’ll blame it on dinner at The Local, just a few doors down from the coffeehouse, and I’ll tell you it was indeed worth being a bit late for the book swap.
John and I thought we had timed things well by leaving the house at 5:30 p.m. for an early supper, but when we arrived at the downtown restaurant 10 minutes later the place was already packed with others who must have thought an early Saturday dinner would suit them in the middle of January. I told a waitress we’d take seats at the bar rather than wait 30 minutes for a table.
This wasn’t a disappointment. Not at all. Bar meals are usually the superior option for a couple. We had the best seats in the house for people-watching. Peter, the restaurant owner, was our bartender and waiter. And I could eavesdrop on other conversations without ever leaving my barstool or seeming like a snoop. (The guy one stool over had a crisp northern accent. He’s lived in Christian County for a dozen years and accepts that he’ll always be an outsider. He likes his neighbors. His brother lives two counties over. He bought extra rounds for his two friends. I could go on …)
I am equally entertained on a barstool or at a bookstore. Or in a coffee shop.
We don’t exactly have a bookstore anymore in Hopkinsville, although The Corner Coffeehouse is slowly but surely curating a section devoted to used books. Their idea for a book swap made a lot of sense — and for those who knew how to arrive on time, there were dozens and dozens of books for the taking.
Amanda Huff-McClure, who owns the coffeehouse with her wife, April, said she regretted not counting how many people participated. But the place was packed for the first hour, she said.
I came home with a couple of books — the best being a beautiful cookbook, “An American Bounty: Great Contemporary Cooking from the Culinary Institute of America.”
Late Saturday night I received an email from someone else who went to the book swap.
“It was as much fun as shopping at a good secondhand store where everything there is someone’s treasure,” Pam Smith told me.
But the book swap wasn’t entirely about books. It was also a reason for people to share time and an interest.
Pam observed, “I spoke to a few people there because I love to make new friends. I knew that we automatically would have something in common. I am sure it was a coincidence, but everyone I met said they were not originally from Hoptown, but they like living here. I feel proud when I hear those words.”
Here’s hoping The Corner Coffeehouse has another book swap. If they do, I’m planning to arrive on time.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
