What makes Atlanta’s A Cappella Books the smartest bookstore in town?

Probably the same things that make you smart. Like you, we love books. We love books so much, that rather than be demoralized by the revolution that has hit our industry and our culture in the last couple of decades, we have become more impassioned than ever about what we sell. As Patti Smith (whom we are proud to have presented as an author and served as a customer) said in accepting her National Book Award, “there is nothing in our material world more beautiful than the book.”

A Cappella Books
When A Cappella Books first opened its doors in Little Five Points in 1989, there was no Amazon. For all intents and purposes there was no internet. Barnes & Noble had not even arrived in Atlanta. Oxford Books dominated the local retail book landscape, with another newcomer, Chapter 11, nipping at its heels. Only a few years later, Oxford had succumbed to its newfangled competition. In several more years, Chapter 11 was bankrupt.

A quarter century–and three re-locations–later, A Cappella is still going strong, and, while still hardly bigger physically than its original incarnation, the little store plays a big role in the local literary scene, presenting important authors and selling books at venues all over town. In 2015, to celebrate our longevity, we joined together with some of our favorite customers and writers to publish a book: A Cozy Infinity: 25 (Mostly) Atlanta Writers on the Never-Ending Allure of Books and Bookstores.

Every day, we stock our shelves with what we think are the most important and interesting current releases and contemporary bestsellers. On display, you’ll also find beautiful new books in all fields of interest that reflect the colorful, graphic and tactile appeal that only physical books can embody. We also select books that celebrate the sense of fun and delight that books have always represented to us.

And, we continue to stock common as well as uncommon used books and price them at half of their new price and often less, and we handle genuinely hard-to-find, collectible and antiquarian books, as well as new limited editions and – by virtue of the hundreds of author appearances we sponsor around town every year – an incomparable selection of signed first editions. A Cappella Books

We are confident that if you love books like we love books, you’ll enjoy what you’ll find on our shelves. And if you’re looking for something that you don’t find on our shelves, we can almost always, if it is in print, have it for you in a few days, or, if it’s out of print, direct you to the best place to pick up a copy.

Next time you’re in the area for a day of sight-seeing, people-watching, shopping, eating and drinking, taking in a play, concert or a visit to any of the nearby cultural or historical sites, please stop in to browse. If you love books, you’ll be glad you did.