Write Around Tampa

Books-A-Million

9570 US-19

Port Richey

Not quite as cozy as its more sophisticated associate Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million (affectionately known as BAM!) holds its own unique place in that they are packed with books, many of them hard to find and drastically discounted. And the variety and volume of magazines is unprecedented in any bookstore. Let’s see how it fares for a writer.

Quality and pricing of food and drink:

Don’t come hungry; only a few pastry/cookie offerings and packaged snacks. The drinks are unique, though. I got a caramel apple frappe for a little over $6. Delicious but very sweet, after three sips it went in the trash.

Are there enough outlets?

Not at all. One outlet about two feet away from the only table by the window. There’s a counter that used to have an outlet but has been covered with a steel plate. They clearly don’t want you plugging in.

How’s the wifi?

Public network, connected with ease.

Will my muse come out?

Probably. It is still a bookstore. And since they don’t offer food, the café will probably never get crowded. Clearly you’re coming here to write or read and have a little sippy-poo while you do it.

How long can I park it?

Open to close, which happens at 8pm. But unless you sit at that window table, you won’t have enough juice to do it.

Final rating: 3.5 out of 5 laptops

Rachel Remick’s fiction and non-fiction stories have appeared in various magazines, among them Rosebud, Bluestem and ellipsis . . . literature and art. A frequent contributor to women’s magazine Sasee, her writing has also been published in several volumes of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books. She lives in Tampa, Florida.