That Bookstore in Blytheville

Welcome!

When Mary Gay Shipley opened her bookshop in Blytheville, Arkansas, in 1976, she had no idea that it would develop a reputation that has made it a unique Mid-America landmark.

The store's 2400 square feet with more than 25,000 titles in stock invites visitors to browse while sipping a cup of the store's own blend of coffee, Special Edition. You can relax in a rocking chair next to a wood stove, engage in conversation about the book you've just read or enjoy a spontaneous reading of the new favorite children's book of the day.

Now TBIB is online in partnership with the American Booksellers Association e-commerce solution. We offer the same wonderful customer service you've come to expect. Secure internet shopping 24 hours a day. Read the newsletter. Browse some titles. Welcome ...

Store Events

We have books that have been signed by the author.

The Blue Star
by Earley, Tony
Seven years ago, readers everywhere fell in love with Jim Glass, the precocious ten-year-old at the heart of Tony Earley's bestseller Jim the Boy. Now a teenager, Jim returns in another tender and wise story of young love on the eve of World War Two. Jim Glass has fallen in love, as only a teenage boy can fall in love, with his classmate Chrissie Steppe. Unfortunately, Chrissie is Bucky Bucklaw's girlfriend, and Bucky has joined the Navy on the eve of war. Jim vows to win Chrissie's heart in his absence, but the war makes high school less than a safe haven, and gives a young man's emotions a grown man's gravity. With the uncanny insight into the well-intentioned heart that made Jim the Boy a favorite novel for thousands of readers, Tony Earley has fashioned another nuanced and unforgettable portrait of America in another time--making it again even realer than our own day. This is a timeless and moving story of discovery, loss and growing up, proving why Tony Earley's writing "radiates with a largeness of heart" (Esquire).

A Question of Character

Author, Dr. Steven Abernathy a former candidate for U.S. Congress for Arkansas, now maintaining dental practices in Jonesboro and in Florida, and co-authors with his son, John, who is a graduate in Video/Film Production.

A Question of Character
by Abernathy, John M., Abernathy, Steven, Fillinger, Justin
What if the President of the United States was also a murderer? D.C. Metro police detective Colin Franks finds he must deal with that question as his investigation into a body found in a D.C. park leads him toward the nations highest office. Federal investigators insist the death is a suicide, but Franks thinks otherwise, and with the assistance of a conspiracy theorist, and a Secret Service agent with a nagging conscience, the detective violates department orders and follows the trail of political intrigue and murder all the way to the White House. Along the way he discovers corruption, dissention, an assassination plot, and a treasure trove of historical artifacts hidden since the Civil War. This fast paced and thrilling novel shows us that in the world of politics, it all comes down to A Question of Character.

Local Bestsellers

Local bestsellers for week ending May 2, 2009

Outcasts United: A Refugee Soccer Team, an American Town
by St John, Warren
The extraordinary tale of a refugee youth soccer team and the transformation of a small American town
Clarkston, Georgia, was a typical Southern town until it was designated a refugee settlement center in the 1990s, becoming the first American home for scores of families in flight from the world's war zones--from Liberia and Sudan to Iraq and Afghanistan. Suddenly Clarkston's streets were filled with women wearing the hijab, the smells of cumin and curry, and kids of all colors playing soccer in any open space they could find. The town also became home to Luma Mufleh, an American-educated Jordanian woman who founded a youth soccer team to unify Clarkston's refugee children and keep them off the streets. These kids named themselves the Fugees.
Set against the backdrop of an American town that without its consent had become a vast social experiment, Outcasts United follows a pivotal season in the life of the Fugees and their charismatic coach. Warren St. John documents the lives of a diverse group of young people as they miraculously coalesce into a band of brothers, while also drawing a fascinating portrait of a fading American town struggling to accommodate its new arrivals. At the center of the story is fiery Coach Luma, who relentlessly drives her players to success on the soccer field while holding together their lives--and the lives of their families--in the face of a series of daunting challenges.
This fast-paced chronicle of a single season is a complex and inspiring tale of a small town becoming a global community--and an account of the ingenious and complicated ways we create a home in a changing world.