Did you know these 6 things about The Best of Books?
A love letter of sorts
As The Best of Books closes its retail establishment, I found myself looking back over the years it has been in operation. Not only has it been a part of my life as a reader, but as well as a writer. And I now realise that the following is but the tip of the iceberg.
So here are six things you may not know about The Best of Books.
1. It used to be on Friars Hill Road
This is where I knew of it first being, and it was there long before Friars Hill Road became known as a commercial area. At first, it was in Royal Palm Place, then it moved to Village Walk before it found its home on St. Mary’s Street. In addition to being in St. John’s, there was a branch at the V.C. Bird Int'l Airport, but that closed down when the airport moved to its new terminal.
2. It was instrumental in at least 3 book festivals
These include:
The Independence Literary Arts Competition (I stand corrected, it was a competition)
Wadadli Stories (2017)
There were also smaller events, such as a Literary Fete, which included the launch of Joanne C. Hillhouse’s To Be a Cheetah.
Also, did you know that an author who was featured in The Antigua & Barbuda International Literary Festival was Eric Jerome Dickey? And one of his books, Dying for Revenge has scenes set in Antigua.
3. It hosted The Wadadli Pen Open Mic
In 2010, The Best of Books asked local author, Joanne C. Hillhouse creator of the Wadadli Pen, for use of the name for their open mic and she gave them permission. The open mic took place on the evenings of the second Saturday of the month and had earned its place in the growing spoken word scene on the island.
4. It sponsored a segment of the afternoon show hosted by Aunty Debbie
Did you know that Observer Radio had a show called Our House with Auntie Debbie that aired in the afternoons? The host and producer was Debbie Eckert who encouraged her listeners to cultivate virtues including justice, truthfulness, and compassion. Once a week, a representative of The Best of Books would come onto the show to share a book geared towards children. The show was a calm space in tumultuous times.
5. It hosted a children’s reading programme and had an arcade
On Saturdays, parents could bring their kids to The Best of Books to learn the joys of reading. There are a few generation of children who have fond memories of being at the bookstore with others being read to or reading themselves.
Also, in the week day afternoons, teens would come to The Best of Books to play video games. Not only did they make friends but they found a safe space to be themselves.
6. It supported local authors
From hosting book launches to maintaining a local author section that was front and center, The Best of Books has supported local authors. From the award-winning Joanne C. Hillhouse to historian Joy Lawerence, authors knew that the bookstore will not only carry their books, they will also encourage readers to read them.
They have carried and sold my books that are set in the Caribbean as well as my collection of poetry. And I am forever grateful for this as it is not only my mission to share our stories to the wider world, but to show other Antiguans and Barbudans that it is possible to write and publish and that includes having books in the local bookstore.
So, it is with sadness that I see this institution, at 25 years of age, close its doors as a retail establishment. It joins the likes of P.C. Book Revue, The Map Shop, Boustany, Sight, Sound, and Times (on Market St.) and so many more. In putting this together, I discovered that so much of what is above is not recorded on the internet. And what scares me is that before long, what was a part of my day to day would fade with the passing of time.
I couldn’t say my good byes to those bookstores and newsstands that formed my reading life but in this, I can do so and have on record that The Best of Books was the best bookstore in Antigua. Thank you for all that the management and staff (both past and present) have done over the years and I wish you success in the segment that continues.
If you have a fond memory of The Best of Books, share it below in the comments and/or share this post via your social media.