"Outside, the Alabama Booksmith is so unassuming it's as if Reiss had forgotten that he was running a retail business: a two-story, nearly windowless structure, surrounded by office parks and parking lots, on a dead-end street in a suburb of Birmingham. Inside, the vibe is half 1970, half 1870, with wood panelling, rattan chairs, and a drop-tile ceiling-but also patterned tablecloths, cozy curtains, a functioning fireplace, and an oversized hourglass."
"Collectively, they are what make Reiss's store the only one of its kind in this country: the books are all hardcovers, virtually all first printings, all signed, and, except for a handful set aside on a small shelf, all for sale at the regular retail price. "Our books don't cost more," Reiss likes to say, "but they are worth more.""
Jake Reiss got into bookselling for the money and the girls. Now ninety years old, he still rises seven days a week to run the Alabama Booksmith. The store is a two-story, nearly windowless building in a Birmingham suburb, with a retro interior that mixes 1970s and 1870s touches. The inventory consists almost entirely of hardcover first printings that are all signed and are sold, with few exceptions, at regular retail prices. Reiss frames the offer with slogans and placards, and he transitioned from a nonreader to a salesman who convinced himself of the books' value.
Read at The New Yorker
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