I just couldn’t let another day pass without mentioning Bienville Books:

Russ Adams opened Bienville Books about 14 months ago and made his first sale: a used Dictionary of Mathematical Terms.

A math professor had died and part of the estate acquired by Adams included the dictionary, other professional texts and a bunch of NASA manuals from the 1970s.

It’s the type of eclectic inventory that Adams hopes will keep the only bookshop downtown thriving in a struggling retail market. What he doesn’t sell over the counter is offered to buyers shopping on the Internet, he said.

“People don’t come here for best sellers,” Adams said of comparisons to the big-chain book dealers in the malls. “I get a lot of requests for cookbooks, out-of-print Mobile and Alabama books. It’s kind of fun.”

Russ is someone I’ve known now for over 20 years. He was my entry into a world of friends I would‘ve never made if not for him. He blazed a bunch of trails, being the first person I knew to support himself by freelancing with his Mac (a IIFx) and then trying his hand at writing out in Hollywood.

Some of my best times have been spent in his company and in our mutual inebriation. Recently, he popped up to NYC for a visit and it was good seeing him. He had returned to his roots and seemed in the best spirits I had seen him in in some time. I wish him and the bookstore much success.