Union Ave Books
Anna and Celine welcome their friend Chelsea, a local buyer of an indie bookshop (Union Ave Books)!
Union Ave Books has been in downtown Knoxville for ten years this July. Chelsea tells us, “It has been her best job by far, and every day is fun.”
Union Ave Books is unique because of the owners and those who work there. “Flossy and Bunnie are fantastic about getting people to work there with a lot of input. Everyone who works there are voracious readers.” Therefore, there is a diverse selection across all genres.
Union Ave Books’ location is in a charming former TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) building from the ’20s, with original floors. Celine tells us it is a fantastic place to get cozy and read and browse. It is a happy place.
Q&A Preview
- Tell us about Union avenue and how it got started!
- What is your favorite aspect about working in a bookstore?
- Do you have a favorite section of the store?!
- With being a locally owned indy bookstore how do you work with publishers and decide what books to carry?
- Do you think it’s important for a bookseller to be actively involved in the community? If so, how are you involved in your local community?
- What advice do you have to offer to an author who would like to conduct an event at your store?
- What is a crazy or funny story that has happened at the bookstore you could tell us about?
- Do you love giving our recommendations?! If we were shopping at the store now and asked for one, what rec would you give?
- Do you like when people read a little bit of a book when they are browsing?
- How are you involved in the book community? What is it like?! You have such a central connection to it all we’d love an inside look!
Listen to the full Novelbound podcast here to learn about the insides of working at an Indy bookstore.
“Everyone who works at [Union Ave Books] are voracious readers.”
Chelsea explaining why Union Ave Books is unique
Chelsea’s Recommendation
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Recommendations for Anna – YA/ Romance
Chelsea will ask you the last to things you loved and the last thing you hated when giving a recommendation
Liked
Disliked
Recommended
- The Duke
- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
- The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
- Leigh Bardugo
Recommendations for Celine – Science Fiction
Chelsea will ask you the last to things you loved and the last thing you hated when giving a recommendation
Liked
Disliked
N/A
Recommended
Summary
Fable by Adrienne Young
Welcome to a world made dangerous by the sea and by those who wish to profit from it. Where a young girl must find her place and her family while trying to survive in a world built for men. Fable takes you on a spectacular journey filled with romance, intrigue, and adventure.
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
In the first book, a teenage cyborg named Cinder deals with her wicked step-mother, finds love, and discovers secrets about herself. As the series continues, Cinder forges an alliance with Scarlet, a spaceship pilot; Cress, an imprisoned computer hacker; and Winter, a Lunar princess. Along with a diverse crew that includes a soldier, a criminal, and a royal guard, they must work together to rise up against the evil Queen Levana to save the country and possibly even the world.
The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson
Eragon meets And I Darken in this thrilling new fantasy debut that follows a fallen princess as she ignites a rebellion to bring back the magical elemental crows that were taken from her people.
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.
And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Once every century, one person is chosen for greatness. But the prophecy is vague, and Elisa has no idea why she was chosen or how she will fulfill the expectations. Her future is unknown and her potential is tremendous—even if she doesn’t realize it. A sweeping fantasy series about a young woman finding her true strength, this is perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore’s Graceling and George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones
The Illuminae files series by Amie Kaufman
Illuminae:
The year is 2575 and two mega-corporations are at war over a planet that s little more than an ice covered speck. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them Ezra and Kady have to make their escape on the evacuating fleet. But their troubles are just beginning. A deadly plague has broken out on one of the space ships and it is mutating with terrifying results. Their ships protection is seriously flawed. No one will say what is going on.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Andrew “Ender” Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Seconds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together, this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by a galaxyful of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox–the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian (formerly Tricia McMillan), Zaphod’s girlfriend, whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; and Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he’s bought over the years.
Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? For all the answers, stick your thumb to the stars!
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Connie Willis’ Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Doomsday Book uses time travel for a serious look at how people connect with each other. In this Hugo-winning companion to that novel, she offers a completely different kind of time travel adventure: a delightful romantic comedy that pays hilarious homage to Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat.
When too many jumps back to 1940 leave 21st century Oxford history student Ned Henry exhausted, a relaxing trip to Victorian England seems the perfect solution. But complexities like recalcitrant rowboats, missing cats, and love at first sight make Ned’s holiday anything but restful – to say nothing of the way hideous pieces of Victorian art can jeopardize the entire course of history.
Want More?
Can’t get enough of Novelbound? Want book you’d like to be reviewed? Have an episode idea? Have a writer you want to be interviewed? Let Celine and Anna Know!
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