For me, rainy days are to be spent listening to anything Mark Kozelek, watching movies or reading. I’m not in a Red House Painters mood today, and I think someone at C-VILLE might notice if I disappear for a few hours and return smelling like popcorn and District 9. So, I paid a visit to Random Row Books on Main Street:
Check that space out! Manager Ryan DeRamus and a colleague were working on the room’s stage, which recently hosted Valleys and hosts a gig by White Hinterland on Saturday that looks promising. I looked around for a bit, found a Dashiell Hammett collection that looked like a steal of a deal, and told Ramus I’d come back. (Cash and checks only.) And I will—possibly to check out one of these events:
Here’s what I like most about Random Row: In the few weeks the space has been open, it already attracted the Wordsmith Poetry Jam, a reliably well-attended event that lost its recent home (Is Venue). Given the size of the room and the location—blocks away from Is’ West Main Street location—it seems like a great pairing of local event and local business. How neighborly, RR!
A friend recently sent me a story on a Philadelphia bookstore called Black and Nobel, a hyper-local business that gets by due mainly to its neighborhood niche. Save an exception or two, Charlottesville isn’t precisely overrun with authors that write fiction about the place in which they live. But spots like Random Row and WriterHouse give me hope that they’ll nab support for hosting local writers of all stripes. After all, one element of being a good neighbor is being a gracious host.
Speaking of WriterHouse, Stephen Elliott—author of The Adderall Diaries and a poker report, among other things—will talk about memoir at WH next week on October 24.
What local venues make you feel particularly welcome? Why?