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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). 





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