When Laura Lilly Cotten, Elizabeth Goodrich and Kristen Iskandrian opened Thank You Books in the Birmingham neighborhood of Crestwood they thought they were just opening a bookstore. They soon realized, though, that they were creating a community.
Goodrich is proud to say that the bookstore has become a place of gathering and friendship.
“I love observing our customers, and hearing them talk about their favorite books,” she said, “and we have regular customers that come in every week. They treat a trip to the bookstore just like they do a trip to the grocery store. It’s an important errand in their schedule.”
Birmingham readers, she said, are curious and intelligent; they are passionate about books and the book community, and they’ve been committed to the success of Thank You Books from its origins in 2019.
The vision of an independent bookstore as a beautiful destination shop – filled with lovingly-curated books of all genres and home to special book activities and events – began when Crestwood neighborhood friends Cotten and Iskandrian began talking about their business dream, and then added Goodrich into their plans.
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“Kristen and Laura spent time in Athens, Georgia, but really connected in Birmingham and began dreaming of an independent bookstore here,” Goodrich said. “I’m a Presbyterian minister by trade, but while I was serving a large congregation I decided it was time to recalibrate my life. I began wondering what was next. I always had the dream of opening a bookstore.”
She met Cotten and Iskandrian through a mutual friend, then began meeting for coffee to discuss the possibilities.
“We felt early on that there was potential to work together,” she said. “We didn’t necessarily set out to have a woman-owned business, but we felt synergy in the partnership. I’m proud that we’re three women who did this, and people are very supportive of it.”
The bookstore opened in December 2019, with what Goodrich calls a “dreamy” opening characterized by great support from the community. While January and February are usually slow for bookstores, they rode that wave of support.
“We were busy, business was good, we were getting to know our neighbors, we were making friends with customers,” she said. “And then Covid brought everything to a screeching halt.”
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While the worldwide pandemic ruined many businesses, Goodrich said that Thank You Books didn’t waste the crisis. The store moved headlong into its “back of the house” plans of offering online ordering, curbside service and delivery. The willingness to shift gears away from the brick and mortar store created opportunities and shored up the sense of community that was already developing.
The pandemic also reintroduced many people to a love of reading.
“People really read during this time, and they also had a great appreciation of local businesses. People were told to shop from businesses they wanted to be around afterwards,” Goodrich said. “They really invested in us, and we don’t take that lightly.”
Today, the store continues to grow.
Its curated collection of books includes a wide variety of genres–from poetry to children’s books; from theology to fantasy–and features both current popular books as well as current books that the owners, general manager and six part-time booksellers feel like need recognition.
Booksellers (who read advance readers copies and keep up-to-date on the publishing industry) are encouraged to read what they want to read and find the best books for their customers.
“Reading should be a pleasure,” Goodrich said.
While the bookstore features thousands of titles in a variety of genres, Goodrich said that they highlight literary fiction. And on a personal level, Goodrich said she’s enjoyed reading memoirs in recent years.
“But if someone comes into the store and wants a fantasy recommendation, I can help them with that and then refer them to our bookseller who knows a lot more about the genre,” she said.
The store also offers special events and activities for its customers, including its monthly subscription Signed First Editions Club (affectionately called “Firsties”). The club – which is available in 3-, 6 or 12-month subscriptions – includes a carefully-selected book each month with a letter describing why the store chose the book and a special bookmark.
“There’s always a lot of excitement on the Tuesdays we announce the selection,” Goodrich said. “A little community has grown up around the subscriptions, and Tuesdays are always fun. At the holidays, we have a party for our club members and of course we think a subscription to the club is a wonderful gift.”
Upcoming in-store events include one in February in partnership with the Birmingham Museum of Art featuring National Book Award winner Imani Perry in conversation with actor Andre Holland. Other in-store book signings and celebrations are listed on the Thank You Books website.
The store also has plans to continue and increase its corporate, nonprofit and other community partnerships. Examples of this include book drives for nonprofits and an ongoing partnership with Canterbury United Methodist Church’s books-to-prison ministry.
“We have a good handle on the bookstore, so we want to increase that kind of work,” she said.
Ultimately, the success of Thank You Books comes from its sense of community – and its literal community in the heart of Crestwood.
“We knew we wanted to be in the city of Birmingham, and we love this area,” Goodrich said. Their neighbors include a pharmacy, coffee shop, fair trade store and specialty food market. “There are other great retail shops, and having good neighbors helps everybody.”
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