Featured Message: Becca Hensley

I'm happy to call Becca Hensley one of good friends that I have known for several years. She has as much a personal connection or even more than me to Booksellers. She wrote a letter several weeks ago to the Commercial Appeal and it just recently made it into the Letters to the Editors section. It's a fantastic letter and I encourage you to read it all the way through. Share Becca's message with Memphis and leave a thankful comment below:

"To Whom It May Concern:

Since Booksellers announced its decision to close, there have been many loyal costumers who've shared their feelings about losing such a valuable establishment in our east Memphis community. While I realize I may be repeating others' sentiments, I wanted to share why Booksellers has been more than just a store to our family.

Naturally, my reasons are similar to those that others have put so well in their own words: a knowledgeable and helpful staff, books representing so many different genres, a meeting place for friends, the cozy Bistro offering a chance to enjoy the atmosphere and delicious food, and a place where parents could bring their children to hear stories and sing songs. But there was something even more meaningful to me that I couldn't quite put my finger on until the last time we were there shopping.

My husband and two children, and I walked through the doors. The usual delightfully cozy atmosphere greeted us, as we decided to split up and look around at our own favorite sections of "our store." We truly feel like Booksellers is "our store." After a while, we met back up and while my husband and children were just an aisle or two over from me, I could hear them sharing some of the titles of books, quirky quotes, and funny illustrations. They were quietly laughing together and trying to "top" one another with their own latest find. Then they spotted something even more interesting and would ask what the others thought about it. That's when it hit me. Bookstores are for sharing ideas. Maybe this is just common sense to everyone. Obviously, the endless array of books share their author's ideas; however, when given the opportunity to peruse aisles of books on shelves together with friends or family, the readers themselves naturally end up sharing their own ideas, laughs, and comments. It draws us together. It begins conversations that are different than the usual ones about soccer practice and work. That's what Booksellers has been for my family and many others...a place to share time and ideas. It draws people together. My husband and I have spent many a date night there, and we've never lacked for conversation when we've wandered up and down the rows of books dreaming of vacations in the travel section or finding the perfect children's book for our child at Christmas. You can't get those kind of moments in front of a computer screen ordering online. That's why I love Booksellers. That's why I hope that we will have an investor come forward to keep an east Memphis gem alive, and that the support shown for Booksellers over the past few weeks would be just the beginning of a new era of buying books in our local community. A place to share ideas...to come together...it's worth it.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Hensley"