Book Report: Banjo Camp! pitches scales, not tents

Author Zhenya Gene Senyak’s new book, Banjo Camp! is a book about banjo camps that is, in and of itself, a camp. There are scrapbook pictures, doodles, coffee stains and swatted mosquitoes. And just when you think the book has met its kitschy-informative saturation point, there’s a companion disc affixed to the back cover so budding banjo enthusiasts can pick along.

Books for free

Tucked in among an array of artists’ studios at 191 Lyman St., in the heart of Asheville’s River District, the newly opened Asheville Book Exchange will let anyone get books for free. Turn a page: Ryan Clark (left), with Asheville Book Exchange co-founder Aleksey Zolotaryov, holds a sign summing up the exchange’s policies. Photo By […]

Room with a viewpoint

At first glance, it would be easy to dismiss Firestorm Café & Books, slated to open May 24, as just another downtown java spot in a town that’s swimming in them—not to mention that it’s tucked away in a corner of downtown with little visibility where previous businesses have gone belly-up. “This town is filled […]