Something I’ve recently decided I want to try to do when I visit a town is find an indie bookstore there, visit it, and buy something from them. I did this with Sundog Books in Seaside, FL a year and a half ago, so when my husband and I planned a little impromptu trip to Chattanooga (about an hour and a half from us), I Googled for an indie and learned about Starline.
Starline Books is in downtown Chattanooga on Market Street, right across from the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo. In case you’re ever looking for it yourself, know that it is inside a larger building. We actually circled around trying to find it because we saw a sign but not a storefront, and then when we came back around my husband realized it was inside a building that had a few businesses inside. Also, it has both an uptsairs and downstairs, and downstairs is where the YA section is.
Oh how I wanted that illustrated Harry Potter, but wasn’t ready to fork over that money quite yet! However, both my husband and I each picked out a book to take home (plus free bookmarks!).
Ruta lives in middle Tennessee and she’s coming to my town in March, so I thought buying one of her books would help move her up my TBR, as I’ve been saying for ages I need to read something by her! My husband has been reading the Mary Russell books ever since we read the first one for our college English class, and he was glad to finally see this one out in paperback. In case you’re curious about the mug, this photo was taken at The Hot Chocolatier, an AMAZING place just a couple doors down from the bookstore.
I had the S’mores hot chocolate, he had the classic hot chocolate, and we shared this eclair, and there were so many other tasty looking treats. Guys, that S’mores hot chocolate may have been the tastiest drink I have ever put in my mouth. This place exceeded my expectations. We sat in the back of the shop by ourselves and it was so chill. It was exactly what I needed on this little getaway.
So if you ever find yourself in Chattanooga, TN, do yourself a favor and check out these gems!
Do you have a favorite indie bookstore you’ve visited in another town?