Literary Tourism: Carmichael's Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky

[image description: Three women on the stairs in front of Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky. From left to right: Sam Shepherd, a white woman with red and blonde streaked hair in a denim jacket and black pants and boots; Adora Namigadde, a Black woman with cornrows in a purple-ish red jacket and matching pants with black boots; and Clare Roth, a white woman with short blonde hair in a black shirt, black jacket, and black boots, with blue jeans. All are smiling and looking fierce.]

The pandemic was challenging for me beyond the usual “everything is shut down because people are sick and dying” reasons. It just so happened that five friends I love dearly ended up getting new jobs and/or accepted to grad school programs that required them to move out of state. I was––and continue to be––thrilled for and proud of these friends, but I also missed them and was sad for me.

This past weekend was extra special because I got to see two of the friends who moved away and we all went to a bookstore together!

The outside of Carmichael’s Bookstore. I love the brick exterior and the awnings over the window that just say “books.” Can I get those at my house?

Here’s how we all came together: Sam Shepherd (left in the header pic) and I still live in Columbus, Ohio. Adora (middle in the header pic) moved from Columbus to Chicago, but was in Columbus visiting. The three of us decided to road trip down to Louisville to see Clare (right in the header pic), who moved there from Columbus.

Another pic of the outside of Carmichael’s. I love their blue door. I also couldn’t help noticing that the store is surrounded by a very skateable plaza area. I wish I’d brought my roller skates!

So that’s the friend Tetris that led us all to Louisville.

I’m lucky that my friends know me well enough to know I’m going to want to visit a bookstore any place we go, so they didn’t even have to ask if I wanted to go to Carmichael’s. It was baked into the plan from the beginning.

Adora browsing the nonfiction section.

Carmichael’s isn’t small, but it isn’t massive either. I’m always intrigued by bookstores that make the most of the space they’re given and I actually think it’s harder to run a small bookshop than a massive bookshop. Take this with a grain of salt because I’ve never managed a bookstore myself, but it seems like if space isn’t an issue, you’ll fill up the shelves and just about anybody can probably find something they like. But if it’s a small bookstore, you have to have a curated selection that still appeals to a wide customer base.

Sam browsing the nonfiction section.

The staff picks shelf was right at the door, so within a minute or two of walking in I already had a book picked out. But generally when I visit a new bookstore I let my intuition guide me rather than going in with an agenda to find a specific book. I never know what’ll end up catching my eye!

Clare browsing the science and nature section.

Because there are a LOT of books in a small-ish space, I do think you should walk at least two rounds through Carmichael’s to make sure you’re not missing anything.

I love a good Pride flag in the window.

Including the Carmichael’s shirts hanging from the lights overhead and the big windows that let the sun in.

Walls of shelves covered in books… That’s honestly how I want my entire house to look.

I don’t want to live in a bookstore per se, because I want to keep all the books, but these angled-out bottom shelves are just the best. I don’t mind getting on the floor to find books on the bottom shelf, but I prefer not to.

Also, I bought one of the books in the picture above. Can you guess what it is?

Sam browsing. Yes, I’m the friend that will sneak up on you to take candids.

This might sound like a silly thing to say, but I like that Carmichael’s has art on the wall that’s not for sale. Most bookstores I visit are either covered in books floor to ceiling or if they have art, it’s for sale. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with either of those things, but it’s refreshing to see that Carmichael’s has made excellent use of their high ceilings by putting up READ posters, Pride flags, and other pieces.

Adora browsing the self-help section.

One of the fun things about going to a bookstore with your friends is being able to trade book recs. I know Adora really values her friendships and likes nonfiction, so I suggested Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman for her.

The cute little upstairs pathway through Carmichael’s.

I don’t know what the Carmichael’s building was before it was a bookstore, but it’s got this little elevated area with stairs on each end. When you’re up there you can look out over most of the store.

The poetry section is in one corner of the elevated area. YA is on the other.

I realize this is oddly specific, but I’m just going to say it: I like a bookstore with nooks and crannies, but I don’t like bookstores that feel like a maze. I went to a certain particularly large and chaotic indie bookstore that had so many rooms I literally got lost and they had to give me a map to find the bathroom. Carmichael’s scratches my itch for nooks and crannies but without making me wonder if I’ll ever find my way out.

Would you go on a blind date with a book?

The sign asks: Are you bold enough? Reader, I am not. Even though I read across a wide variety of genres, I’m always afraid if I get one of these I’ll have already read the book!

Maybe I’ll do it one of these days and blog about it.

Creeping on my friends again.

Carmichael’s also had a couple of thematic areas, like this table with book recs for women’s history month.

Even more Carmichael’s!

Through a funky little hallway, there was even more Carmichael’s.

Visitor map!

I love when bookstores (and anywhere, really) does these visitor maps. It’s fascinating to me how well-traveled folks are in this day and age. I can’t help wondering what would bring someone from all these places to Louisville and enjoy imagining the stories they carry.

The King!

I definitely didn’t expect to see this tapestry of velvet Elvis in the hallway, but what made it especially hilarious for me is that we have the EXACT SAME velvet Elvis hanging in our office.

Carmichael’s part two.

The “More Carmichael’s Ahead” sign led me to the part of the story with puzzles, gift books, magnets, mugs, tea towels, and other things that are book adjacent.

Puzzles on puzzles on puzzles.

It used to annoy me when I’d go in bookstores and see precious shelf space dedicated to puzzles, but I’m happy to report that I don’t feel that way anymore. I’ve put a few puzzles together while reading audiobooks and I’ve seen more than a few book-themed puzzles, so the connection makes sense to me.

From L to R: Sam Shepherd, Adora Namigadde, and Clare Roth.

We each bought some books and afterward I took some FIRE pics of my girls on the steps in front of the store. Seriously, my friends are gorgeous.

I ended up buying a book called Radical Sewing: Pattern-Free, Sustainable Fashions for All Bodies by Kate B. Weiss that Sam found for me. We’d talked about learning to sew and alter our clothes, so that was nifty. I also got Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place by Neema Avashia and Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller by Nadia Wassef.

Turns out the section of the bookstore I totally forgot about has its own dedicated building.

Somehow I didn’t notice that there wasn’t a kids section in the main Carmichael’s building, but as we walked down the street on our way to the vintage shops, coffee shops, and record stores along Louisville’s Bardstown Road district, I realized why there was no kids section… The kids section is actually its own building.

The storefront of Carmichael’s Kids.

We didn’t go in since none of us have kids and I’m the only one with a niece or nephew, but I can imagine it’s a magical place for Louisville’s tiny humans.

I’m looking forward to rolling through Carmichael’s again the next time I visit Clare.