Southern Indiana Bookstores: Viewpoint Books—Two Chapters, Many Voices
- Courtney Diles
- Apr 18
- 2 min read
I started this blog with the intention of writing about things that inspire me, and Viewpoint Books fits the bill beautifully. You enter and feel called to explore and to learn, whether you are an adult or a child. The place feels cared about and it feels like it cares about you. Even their social media brims with enthusiasm. The world as a whole feels represented in their selection of books; they feel oriented in history and determined to make a good impact on the community.
They sell new books only, but if you’re a treasure hunter / collector like me, don’t worry—they have many books that are hard to find and they can order in requests. Their online bookstore is fantastic.
Even better, they always have a delightful, rotating selection of books signed by the authors! I remember my wonder the first time I came across a Barnes & Noble on a Black Friday and saw all their seasonal signed copies. This store feels that way year round.
They have two locations on Washington Street in Columbus, Indiana, within blocks of each other. Chapter Two opened just last year. Both have all genres represented, but the corner store has a larger children's section and more nonfiction; Chapter Two has a larger selection of science fiction and fantasy.
In recent years they began several book clubs focused around different genres, including romance, fantasy, and thriller. I’ve been to a few sessions of the It’s True! Nonfiction Book Club, where I discovered gems like Next Indiana Campfires and Immense World. They recently started a Banned Books Club I'm interested in....
Their Silent Book Clubs on the second Mondays of the month became so popular, they added a lunchtime option on third Mondays as well.
I’ve gotten some of my favorite journals here, such as Skye Nicholson's Elemental Alchemy: A Guided Journal for Transformational Growth and Be the Difference Monthly Planner: Serve Others and Change the World: A Guided Journal.
I'm posting about this lovely store now in celebration of upcoming Independent Bookstore Day on April 26th! I'll be posting about some other southern Indiana bookstores, too, so please stay tuned.
Viewpoint Books will be selling some exclusive surprises on the 26th and rolling out some new editions!
As for me, with any luck I'll be dropping by on Tuesday for the release of Emily Henry's Great Big Beautiful Life. They'll be opening early and offering breakfast! It's a little out of my way, but a sunrise and a new book might be worth the drive.
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