Skip to main content

Words on Wheels: The WOW Bus


WOW makes its debut at Arts Goggle Fall 2013 



Some of us have a love affair with books. We walk into the bookstore and wonder which book we will meet today. We narrow our options by going to the sections where we know we will find the one. We look at their covers, feel their pages, and read the synopsis inside the flap. Sometimes we meander over to staff picks to see what professional bookworms recommend. Then we whittle our decision down to one or two books and rush home to dive into another world.

Words on Wheels is a school bus converted public library that moves up and down Magnolia Avenue in Fort Worth, but without a checkout system, making it possible for anyone and everyone to court the book of their dreams. 

This young man found a Harry Potter book.
After Borders bookstores shut their doors in 2011, and she heard Barnes & Noble plans to close two Fort Worth locations in January, founder Tina Stovall decided to open WOW. She wants to give people yet another avenue for experiencing books. After all, some of us haven’t converted to the Kindle just yet.

You can step inside the bus, read books or peruse magazines while not having to make a commitment. It’s
roomier than you think, and the atmosphere is kind with hardwood floors, curtains, bookshelves, cushioned benches and natural light coming from the bus windows.

You can even leave with a book and return it later, or bring one you’ve finished and make a trade, or drop off old magazines and books collecting dust depriving someone else of a good read. You can even host a book club with up to eight people inside the bus (and they will provide coffee). Or you can just leave with a book to never return.

Stovall just hopes you pass it on to someone else once you’re finished reading it (and that you don't fall asleep in her bus). 





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spring Break Series: Open Trail Rides in the North Texas Wild

It's been a while. I've missed you all.  Since this blog started five years ago to tell you about new and adventurous things to do in and around Fort Worth, I am here to help you with some ideas in the wild outdoors of the DFW backcountry just in time for planning your Spring Break.  You don't have to travel far and empty your bank account to have an exhilarating time this Spring Break. So I will do a little series on this blog of some great ideas. And be looking for my march issue cover story in Fort Worth, TX magazine that will have you exploring areas you never thought existed in our hometown. You just thought you had to go to Utah or Colorado to enjoy the great outdoors. And don't forget to click the links I've embedded into this post for more information.  Chisholm Trail Rides are the only OPEN trail riding experience in North Texas. Do you realize how happy this makes this thrill seeker?!? This is not your average trail ride where the horses walk at a s
Post a Comment
Read more

Big Sky No. 2, parts 1+ 2

  By Jocelyn Tatum   I have an affinity for all things that cause me to look up — mostly trees and clouds. When I walk the dogs or go for a long run, I often trip over something because I am admiring tree limbs reaching toward the ever-changing clouds, or the way sunlight plays with both.    Komorebi is a Japanese word that doesn't have an English translation, which means the way light travels through the leaves of trees. I wonder if there is a word for the way light shines through the clouds. Fall Gallery Night 2019, I stumbled upon a magnanimous canvas of clouds with the sun piercing through. It knocked me back. I took a picture just to admire it from home but walked away knowing I would never allow myself to get it. A year later, it occurred to me that I still think about that art. The strange state of things and lots of extra time at home has encouraged me to do things I never thought possible. And I don't understand the correlation between the pandemic and my newfound imp
Post a Comment
Read more

My Marfa 2020

By Jocelyn Tatum  I n the 12 years that I have been going to Marfa almost annually, a lot has changed. But the small-town-in-a-vast-desert charm has stayed the same. Here are a few things I always plan to do in my two days and two nights in Marfa.  First, drive. I know it seems like it is far away, and it is, but this road trip goes fast because there is no traffic headed west and away from civilization. Driving is part of the right of passage to get there. I also feel like I shed the societal sludge that builds up on my shoulders as I careen across Interstate 20.  Once you turn off onto HWY 17 in Pecos, the drive starts to transition from sulfur and pumpjacks to pure beauty. It always reminds me of my road trip though the Scottish Highlands. My thoughts change with the landscape. Again, no traffic and no crowds. A tip: when you do pass a fellow road warrior once you get into the mountains, give them the friendly L-shaped finger wave the locals do there. Even the
Post a Comment
Read more