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

Little Lilly Sushi

Although it may look the same as Fort Worth's original sushi joint,  Little Lilly Sushi is a different animal (or fish) in a novel way. diced tuna, sushi rice, shiso, sake-soy, mountain yam and wasabi It's in the same location and has the same chummy atmosphere as the former Hui Chuan but a crisp carte du jour. The 24-year-old blooming chef, Jesus Garcia, created the menu and plays with it weekly to keep his job amusing and see what works for his customers. And trust me, it's DELICIOUS. So good that it inspired me to write on my food blog for the first time since I had my baby. He's 11 months old. While there are a few items that stay on the menu (like my favorite Hamachi Zest roll), he adds treats every week to keep things interesting. Check out their Facebook page under the "current fish selection" album to see what's fresh and what Jesus is experimenting with this week. If ever confused by the contents, Chef Garcia explains all of his crea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Weekend on Caddo Lake

T he mysterious tall trees Caddo Lake is known for remain hidden in the early morning darkness. Our fishing guide, Billy Carter , is supposed to meet us at 7 a.m., but the sun has yet to rise. The tired family gathers around the breakfast table grabbing Marie Calendar’s cinnamon rolls and Jimmy Dean sausage biscuits discussing our potential catches for the day. As the sun peeks through the cypress forrest, I remember how uniquely beautiful it is here. Rumored to be five hundred years old, bald cypress trees grow 60 feet out of the water. The angelic Spanish moss delicately hangs from the trees’ limbs — it doesn’t rustle in the wind like leaves do, rather it quietly dances and floats like individual notes in a harmonious composition. In the dark when the wind is still, they look like stalagmites in a cave. Legendary Billy Carter Billy pulls up a little after 7, and six of us pile into the boat. Billy’s roots run as deep as the ring-dated 400-year-old bald cypress trees that tower ...
3 comments
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 n...
Post a Comment
Read more