About Us

A Tale of Two Countries

In the Fall of 2003, Jeff McCord met a Florida lawyer named Boe Bowman who owns a used bookstore in London, Ontario (it’s a long story). When he returned home from Canada, Jeff stood on the front porch of his Grant Park home and looked around. There were absolutely no bookstores in sight. Recognizing an unmet need in Southeast Atlanta, he declared, “Maybe I’m crazy, but I think we need a bookstore!” As it turned out, both parts of that statement were true.

Fixated on the unlimited possibilities of value and quality that a used book store could bring to the neighborhood, Jeff started buying up large quantities of awesome books wherever he could find them. And his many friends also chipped in and often dropped off books on his front porch. So many books, in fact, that one day he could no longer open the front door of his house because of all the boxes of books stacked in his living room. Taking this as a sign of cosmic significance, Jeff rented a storage unit and began searching for a space to lease for a bookstore in the under-served neighborhoods of Southeast Atlanta.

A Funky Cool Neighborhood

In May, 2005, Jeff signed a lease for a storefront in East Atlanta Village, a funky part of Atlanta that only the coolest people ever knew about. Leave it up to the New York Times to blow the lid off that secret, because they named East Atlanta Village as a top Atlanta hot spot in an article in their travel section in May, 2005. Hoardes of camera-toting tourists suddenly appeared in the EAV. Well, not really - but it certainly piqued some interest in some adventurous types who had never heard of East Atlanta before. When they came in the summer of 2005, visitors found a new streetscape improvement project underway, a new library just opening, and lots of cool shops, restaurants and clubs within walking distance of a great neighborhood.

And they found the signs saying “New Bookstore Opening Soon”. With the help of many friends and a borrowed circular saw, Jeff toiled diligently to transform a skinny retail space into an emporium of enlightenment. Branching out from used books, Jeff also acquired along the way some very cool used and new music CD’s, lots of great new and remaindered books, as well as a sampling of used audio books and a small, very slightly used cat. Cards, journals and magazines were also on the agenda. Blisters, splinters and sore muscles weren’t on the agenda, but they were all acquired – and at no small cost.

Taking the time to “get it right”, Jeff and his friends worked through the summer of 2005 and opened the doors of Bound To Be Read Books on September 16, 2005. Georgia’s newest independent bookstore was born! There was great rejoicing.

A Vision

Bound To Be Read Books was envisioned as a store that is attentive and responsive to the needs of the neighborhoods it serves. More than just another cluttered and dusty used book store, Bound To Be Read Books is a vibrant and truly community-oriented store that offers events like book signings and readings by local and national authors and regular children’s story times. Small book clubs and groups find a welcoming atmosphere and it’s a comfortable place to meet friends and neighbors, with bench seating inside the door and chairs scattered around.

While there are plenty of books on the shelves that are just plain fun to read, Bound To Be Read Books also works hard to offer a variety of books that challenge, confront, console and captivate. Here you can expect to find books with big ideas, books that are beautiful in style and sentiment, books that demand more of us all and books that lead our hearts and minds to new places. Bound To Be Read Books is a great place to ventilate your mind with good books.