Best Virtual Bookstore

Photo: Eric England

Variety is overrated. There may have been a time when a Sears model of shopping for multiple items in a single spot was preferable, but we’ve got the internet now — it’s not hard to find anything. That’s why I like to count on the taste of individual store runners to inform my shopping, and I trust Joelle Herr. She’s been in the business of books for more than 20 years, and her tightly curated selection at East Nashville boutique The Bookshop usually includes exactly what I’m looking for, as well as a bunch of new ideas that I hadn’t considered. On the shop’s website, there are options to purchase book bundles like the Old School Creepy Bundle (which includes titles from H.P. Lovecraft and Richard Matheson) — and they’ll even make a custom bundle for you if you email a specific request. New titles are listed weekly, and themed monthly reading challenges give you lots of great ideas — September’s prompt was to read a collection of essays, and recommended options included dozens of titles from writers like Joan Didion, Zadie Smith and Mary Oliver. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER

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