Owners Laura Cotten and Kristen Iskandrian in front of their store location. Photo via @thankyou_bham on Instagram

Attention all readers, book lovers, and small business supporters: Thank You Books is coming to Crestwood Village next month! This woman-owned independent bookstore will sell general-interest books for all ages, with an emphasis on literary fiction and poetry. Keep reading to get the scoop!

If you haven’t visited Crestwood Village lately, now is the time.

Taylor Trammell and Tyler Shadix, owners of Crestwood Pharmacy and Soda Fountain. Photo via Kristina O’Quinn for Bham Now

Thank You Books is the latest addition to Crestwood Village. This historic area recently got a facelift, and we found 9 reasons you NEED to go check it out.

Hint: it involves kombucha floats, a pharmacy with one of the coolest bathrooms in Birmingham, a former gas station that made it to the Supreme Court in the 1950s, and a lot more.

There’s also a fan favorite brewery, True Story Brewing Company, that’s full of great local artwork and great local beer.

Thank You Books has an interesting backstory

We love girl bosses here at Bham Now! Photo via @thankyou_bham on Instagram

According to this spotlight, Laura Cotten and Kristen Iskandrian have both worked in the book industry. They met in Birmingham through their involvement in a local nonprofit, Desert Island Supply Co.

In 2017, Iskandrian posted on Facebook about wanting to open a bookstore of her own in Birmingham. At the time, Cotten and her husband had moved to Michigan, but she commented that she would move back to Birmingham if Iskandrian really did open a store and wanted help.

A few months later, after Iskandrian continued to mull over the idea, she reached out to Cotten, asking if her offer was genuine. It turned out that at the same time, Cotten had been working on an e-mail stating her intentions.

“It might sound hokey but it’s true,” said Cotten. “We have always been on the same page, and we have always felt guided by some benevolent force.”

Cotten and Iskandrian partnered up with Elizabeth Goodrich to bring Thank You Books to Birmingham!

What will you be able to find at Thank You Books?

Thank You Books is located in Crestwood Village between Crestwood Pharmacy and Seasick Records. Photo by Beth Cunningham for Bham Now

Birmingham has several locally-owned bookstores full of literary treasures. Supporting independent bookstores is an important practice for anyone who’s ever been impacted by a book (so, pretty much everyone).

Of course, Thank You Books will sell general-interest books for all ages, with an emphasis on literary fiction and poetry.

In addition to books, Thank You Books will carry high-quality paper products, stationery and journals, pens, assorted store-branded merchandise and a host of “cute extras.”

Find Them Here:

Once you have your stack of new books, check out Birmingham’s silent book club

A dreamy stack if I’ve ever seen one. Photo via @thankyou_bham on Instagram

The weather is FINALLY cooling down, which means it’s time to break out your coziest blanket and your stack of books. If you don’t have a cozy reading nook at home, I’ve got just the thing for you.

Check out Birmingham’s very own chapter of the Silent Book Club. These Silent Book Club meetups happen all over the country, usually once a month. Dubbed, “Introvert Happy Hour,” Silent Book Club claims simple rules: Read, Wine, Repeat.

Bring your latest purchase from Thank You Books, and sit in companionable silence with friends and strangers alike. Although, are fellow bookworms ever really strangers?

Check out Thank You Books on Facebook and Instagram—and as always, follow @BhamNow on social to keep up with the latest Birmingham news!

Beth Cunningham A Birmingham transplant who can usually be found hitting a new hiking trail or restaurant opening when she's not writing stories and snapping photos for Bham Now.