The High Country is home to a number of niches that can fill
the craving in a literature lover’s brain.
Bookstores in Boone vary from a national chain, several recognized
independent stores, and a booth in a local emporium, as well as an
established used bookseller that has shifted its business online.
Black Bear Books in Boone features remaindered hardcovers, bestsellers,
titles with regional and local interest and a range of genres, as
well as special orders. The store also has wireless Internet and a
coffee bar and a children’s section with games and books. The
store regularly hosts author signings and special events.
Waldenbooks in the Boone Mall focuses on current bestsellers, regional
books, and discounted titles, as well as magazines, calendars and
other printed matter. Waldenbooks is open seven days a week during
regular mall hours and can also special order titles.
Skyland Books & Chickory Suite Coffee has two locations. One is
on Main Street in Blowing Rock, with an emphasis on local and regional
titles, as well as Blowing Rock’s own bestselling resident Jan
Karon. The store is located in the courtyard beside the Martin House.
The second location is in downtown West Jefferson, where local titles
and authors are featured. Both stores offer author events and can
also fill special orders for select titles.
Boone is also home to a respected used bookstore, Row by Row Books.
After a number of years operating a storefront on King Street while
also selling used books online, the company is now exclusively an
Internet bookstore, handling mostly non-fiction books, though it also
has rare and signed collectible novels.
Local writers and publishers have a booth in the Wilcox Emporium on
Howard Street in Boone. Members of the High Country Writers and books
from High Country Publishers and Parkway Publishers have books for
sale there, often with the authors on hand to sign during weekends.
The region is home to three small, independent publishers. Parkway
Publishers focuses on titles of local interest and history, such as
its recent “A Short History of Watauga County” and “Wheels
and Deals in the Yadkin Valley.” McFarland Books is a leading
publisher of scholarly and specialty titles, among them performing
arts, sports, chess, automotive history, and criticism, releasing
300 titles a year. High Country Publishers focuses on fiction and
memoirs, helping distribute the work of local authors on a national
level, with recent releases being “Murder At Blue Falls,”
“Pelican Watch” and “The Perfect Game, Imperfect Lives.”
Plenty of free reading material and Internet access are available
at local public libraries. The Watauga County Library is located on
Queen Street in Boone and has a branch in the Cove Creek Community
Center.
Story by Scott Nicholson
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