Jackson Jambalaya

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I absolutely loved this place. It was a fantastic way to spend a Saturday morning, and it had a ton of things that only locals would be interested in.

Yawn.

Choctaw Books was one of those places that many claimed to love, but few ever actually patronized. The proof of that is in the closing. Few were actually going there, and fewer were purchasing books from there. The couple of times I went, it was messy and disorganized and uninviting - like poking around in your grandma's attic.

Same thing when Bebop Records closed. The hipsters whined on cue about its closing, but if all the Fondrenites and Free Pressers had actually BOUGHT music from there, it would be open today. No, it's much easier to blame everyone else when that quaint little establishment that you love being there but never frequent has to close its doors.

"Why didn't all you other people shop there?"

Books? We ain't got no stinkin' books.

10:21 is right. It was a book hoard, not a book store. It seemed like most of the books had significant mold damage, and did not seem organized in any way shape or form. People still shop at Lemuria for new books. It would be nice to have a used book store-but a short trip to Memphis (Burkes) or down to New Orleans does it...

Sadly this and BeBop's closing are partially because of the I-age where people would rather just buy it online or read/listen to an electronic copy without leaving the couch. How The Little Big Store in Raymond has remained in business I have no idea.

No worries. Most of the city council can't read. Ask them about the 35,000 moldy books. 'nuf said.

11:24am, vinyl will keep record stores open. People want to hear the snaps and pops of an actual needle on a record, and you can't get that from Spotify.

11:24 - I'm sure their gardening efforts help supplement the record business.

Another building right beside it was demolished too. Does anyone know if anything will be erected on the property? Word is a coffee shop will be located in the old YMCA Headquarters Building. Go Belhaven!

926 North St

9:27, try to find something original. The next crap is getting old.

I think Fred was able to get some of his stock out of there, but a lot of books were plowed under in the demolition. He had sold the building over the summer to William and Jerry Lake (the latter of Carter's Jewelers fame), and the new owners may have gotten impatient and just demolished the building. In any case, there are a lot of books scattered around the site.

Between this and the Tisdale Library debacle, it hasn't been a good week for books in Jackson.

Jerry Lake you say! Oh shit! Now there will be a big sale in Vicksburg and Jackson at Carter Jewelers. Not a rain damage sale! Not a holiday sale! Not a mold or hail-damage sale! But a sale of all diamonds due to bulldozer damage miles away. Everything half off plus half and then take another 40% off. And a free cutting of a rose from Greenwood Cemetery said to have grown withing sixty feet of Eudora's resting place.

There's that nice book store over between northside and the Lutheran Church, if you're looking -- the name completely slips my mind. It's in that three story building that you can see from I-55, there's a nice little coffee/lunch spot on the first floor.

For those wanting a good, clean, current, etc used bookstore. Go to the bookrack in Canton Mart #6.

7:43 I believe you're referring to the bookstore that faces out towards St. Richard's Catholic Church, unless there's two churches on that street. I also forget the name right now, but it's the store that has authors come in periodically and sign copies of their books.

I think Jimmy Buffet once held a book signing there at the bookstore with no name.

@ 7:43 pm, @ 9:31 PM & @ KF 10:08 PM The bookstore is called Lemuria Books & the coffee shop is called Broadstreet Bakery. Both 5 star rated.

Yeah, right. Who are you trying to kid?

I never saw any mold at Choctaw Books. A book is a terrible thing to waste!

Jimmy Buffet wrote a book?

There was no mold at Choctaw. It was a diggers bookstore but the owner was a one man show and had no help running it including his immediate family. He was overwhelmed with just trying to survive and couldn’t put the effort into organizing backstock, etc. however the front (the most valuable or rare books) were well organized. I got many good books for fair prices from there over three decades. It is easy to criticize but I am sad that it closed years ago and now is gone for good. It is hard to survive these days selling in a bricks and mortar actual store anything one can buy cheaper on EBay or Amazon. New and used books are at the top of that category. I am just glad that Lemuria has survived. So far.

True. However, when he rebuilt after the fire, the place was very neat. No books in the aisles, for example. Instead of keeping it that way, he just allowed it to get cluttered up again. However, every time I asked him about a book, he knew where it was or what it was about.

I would like to invite everyone to check out The Book Rack in Canton Mart Square! It has been around for 50 years and is a lovely used bookstore. I’ve been a customer there for over 25 years!

Glad to see some people set the record straight on what a great place Choctaw Books was vs. some of the early comments yesterday. Also about how knowledgeable and helpful Fred was. Doesn't much matter about it being torn down since it closed 2-3 (?) years ago, but said to hear it apparently still had some inventory in it. Tempted to say something about Jerry Lake not appreciating something of real value like a book, but... Wonder what they are planning to do with the property. Can't imagine they would move Carter Jewelers there even though they could definitely use the parking space.

@12:30 - Mr Buffett has written several books, many NY Times bestsellers. The few I have read are quite entertaining...