Ah, is there any humbler figure in the book world than that grocery store staple, the mass market paperback (MMP)? Other than that very shade of a book, "e-books," of course. You know the kind--the Lee Childs thriller, the latest Mary Higgins Clark mystery, those V. C. Andrews books you read way too young. Like the hobbits of Middle Earth, MMPs are of a much smaller stature than their peers, less showy, less refined. They're also cozy, unassuming, the salt of the earth. A collection of luxurious leatherbound tomes or pristine signed first editions is a worthy goal, but here are five reasons...

Special and heartfelt thanks to the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America's Southeast Chapter, whose generous support allowed me to attend Rare Book School this summer.

Rare book rager, "summer camp for book nerds," bookseller grad school, antiquarian Acapulco, call it what you will, Rare Book School is heaven for lovers of the word in all its varied forms. So much of my RBS experience truly was like a sleepover camp, full of skits, songs, and inside jokes, which share equal space in my notes with terms, dates, and figures. From Mark and John's Rare Book Schoolhouse Rock spoofs to dinner, drinks, and roaming about grounds with new...

If you're one of our beloved locals, you probably don't see me much behind the counter at Underground Books and might be surprised to find out that I work full time (and, quite happily, beyond) for the bookstore. That's because, away from charming, historic Adamson Square, out on busy Bankhead Highway, amid the gas stations, used car lots, and family owned buffets, there's another Underground Books--the UndergroundBooks.Net office/warehouse/annex (we've never really settled on a name).  This is my dominion.

The office is where we store large collections we buy while we put on our Sorting Hats and research the...

Talk to any antiquarian book dealer over the age of 50 and you’ll hear about the glory days of book scouting, back before the internet. There was a time (especially in larger cities with lots of bookstores) when a person could make a living hunting for books to sell to used & antiquarian bookstores. They would learn what bookstore owners in their region would buy, and they would scour yard sales, thrift stores, auctions, and estate sales for books that matched the buying interests of those stores, and they could make a living doing this. This involved a lot of...

We love running a real, live, brick and mortar bookstore. We love being surrounded by books and book-lovers. We love looking for that elusive book you need that has no title or author, but only "a blue cover." We love setting up new displays, recommending our favorite books, and stocking the shelves with unusual titles. We love providing a space for creative, cultural, and intellectual events in the town we love. Here's how we do it, with hard work, sweat, and all of the internet.

While working the counter at Underground Books, we frequently hear some variation on the following: “I...