Ann Patchett bests Stephen Colbert

It doesn’t happen often—a guest getting the last word on The Colbert Report?  But it happened just earlier this week, when author Ann Patchett came on the show to explain why she helped open Parnassus Books in Nashville: because she was horrified that her town had NO bookstores.

I was lucky enough to hear Ann Patchett in person, at the Muse and the Marketplace conference in Boston a few years ago, and I was impressed by how sharp she was—for example, she delivered a witty and inspiring keynote address without a single page of notes.  (I wish I were cool enough to be friends with her!) But even so, I was surprised to see her talk Stephen Colbert into a corner.  Watch below, and see if you aren’t convinced of the need for independent brick-and-mortar stores, too:

Further Reading:

• FWR reviews Ann Patchett’s most recent novel, State of Wonder
• Learn more about why Patchett decided to open her own bookstore
• Listen to Patchett deliver the above-mentioned keynote address at the Muse and the Marketplace conference in 2009