Decatur Listed Among 'Great Small Towns For Book Lovers'

DECATUR, GA -- If you love a good book, there's almost nowhere better than Decatur.

The website, AboutGreatBooks, has compiled a list, "30 Great Small Towns For Book Lovers."

And coming in at No. 2 on that list is none other than Decatur.

Clearly, it's the AJC Decatur Book Festival, which draws thousands to downtown every Labor Day weekend, that put the city in such a prime spot, behind only Covington, Ga. on the list.

Here's the site's entry on Decatur:

Each Labor Day weekend, bibliophiles from all over the country flock to small Decatur, Georgia for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Decatur Book Festival. Each festival hosts upwards of 600 publishing industry insiders and authors, some of the past of which have included Erica Jong, Roxane Gay, Samuel R. Delaney, Damon Tweedy, and Amy Stewart, to name a few. The wide variety of events and speakers makes the festival a popular option for readers and writers alike. Best of all, it’s all free!

The website says its criteria for what makes a good book town varied widely from location to location.

"Some, such as Monroeville, Alabama, are known for one specific, but beloved, author or book, while others, like Concord, Massachusetts, have a long literary history of famous names and places," the list says. "Still others, like Newport, Oregon, have unique destinations made especially for book lovers who just want a quiet and inspiring place to, you know, read. But whatever they’re known for, the small towns on this list are sure to make you feel — 'in some mysterious way' — a little closer to the words on the page."

Rounding out the top 10 on the list, behind Covington and Decatur, are: Salinas, California; Key West, Florida; Amherst, Massachussetts; Waco, Texas; San Marino, California; Concord, Massachussetts; Amelia Island, Florida and Oxford, Mississippi.