Ann Patchett to open bookstore

Disappointed by the lack of bookstores in her hometown of Nashville, writer Ann Patchett is taking matters into her own hands—and opening one. Reports the Christian Science Monitor:

As Patchett’s been recounting in interviews on her book tour, a frame shop where she has been a customer since high school asked her if they should stock [her latest novel] “State of Wonder.” They made the offer because, sadly, Nashville’s bookstores – from big-box chains to the 30-year-old Davis-Kidd bookstore – have been shutting down.

“It’s very weird to have a book coming out without a bookstore,” Patchett told The Tennessean. “When Davis-Kidd closed, I thought, ‘I don’t want to live in a city without a bookstore.’ ” So according to Bookpage, Patchett says she’s teaming up with a Random House sales rep named Karen Hayes who had already been planning to launch an indie bookstore in Nashville. No word on how involved Patchett will be in day-to-day operations, but hearing her voice light up when she talks about the venture leaves no doubt that it’s a personal passion.

What do you think? Can authors—who presumably know books better than anyone else—help revive the indie bookstore?