Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book

GainesvilleGirl avatar reviewed on + 215 more book reviews


A truly charming memoir of what life is like in a small town for world weary big town escapees, Wendy Welch and her husband Jack Beck. Wendy and Jack buy a very large old home, refurbish it, stock it, and turn an ever- expanding portion of it into a bookstore, having a threadbare budget with which to do all of this. Their trials and tribulations, as well as their joys and highs, make for a heart warming read. The bookstore/home is located in Big Stone Gap, a Virginia mountain community. A major problem was the fact that they had no idea whatsoever of how to run a business, especially a bookstore. Much of the fun in reading this book is in observing their learning process while sympathizing with the bumps in the road along the way.