City Lights Bookstore

City Lights Bookstore Our indie bookstore is located in Sylva, North Carolina -- a small Main Street town tucked in the heart of the southern Appalachian Mountains.
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Browse our thoughtful selection of new and used books, cards, maps, gifts and more in downtown Sylva, NC. Trade-in used books every Wednesday and Saturday, until 5 p.m. Buy books and ebooks locally, online at: http://www.citylightsnc.com/aff/clfb

Jeremy Lloyd will visit City Lights on Saturday, June 20th at 3:00pm to share his new book, Forest Time: Footnotes to an...
06/12/2026

Jeremy Lloyd will visit City Lights on Saturday, June 20th at 3:00pm to share his new book, Forest Time: Footnotes to an Outdoor Education.

"With an ear for irony and human folly, Lloyd acts as a trail guide for readers who may have no experience in our national parks while able at the same time to provoke wonder and intrigue in even the most seasoned wilderness explorer.”

–Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, author of Even As We Breathe

In his twenties, broke, brokenhearted, and fearful about the future, Jeremy Lloyd stumbled into a job that would change his life. More than two decades later, still an educator at Tremont in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Lloyd recounts his journey as a teacher and student of the great outdoors in Forest Time: Footnotes to an Education Outdoors. Blending natural history, daring—and sometimes foolish—adventure, and spiritual balm for a world suffering from widespread disconnection from nature, Forest Time is equal parts personal, educational, and existential. Lloyd’s stories about his work as an educator at an overnight nature center are filled with humility and conviction, examining his relationships to the forests, mountains, and rivers he calls home.

Wrestling with the intersections between the wild natural landscape, high-volume tourism, and the national park system, Lloyd’s explorations are born from his extensive experience and personal relationship with the park. His voice and candor are as refreshing and distinctive as the natural environment he writes about, reminding readers that the mountains are not only national treasures but also a remedy for modernity’s errors and a cultural malaise fixated on material gain and ultimate safety and comfort. Vulnerable, hilarious, and widely accessible, Forest Time fits appropriately on shelves beside the works of Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard, and Kevin Fedarko.

Emily B. Martin will visit City Lights on Friday, June 19th at 6:00pm to share her new book, NELL O’DELL HATES QUESTS. "...
06/11/2026

Emily B. Martin will visit City Lights on Friday, June 19th at 6:00pm to share her new book, NELL O’DELL HATES QUESTS.

"A witty fantasy that celebrates ingenuity and subverts prophecy; a strong pick for readers who enjoy genre-bending adventures." —School Library Journal (starred review)

What happens when the quest finds you, despite your best efforts? A reluctant adventurer sets off on an unexpected journey in this broadly appealing fantasy at once earnest and self-aware, funny and heartfelt, and thoroughly charming.

Nell O’Dell yearns for a quiet life tending her garden and caring for her chickens. Unfortunately, her family runs the bustling Crossroads Inn—accommodating all species of patron from fairies to fauns to half-giants, most of them questers on their way to seek glory and fortune. What’s more, her parents are retired questers themselves, and everyone assumes that Nell will follow in their footsteps. Then the day comes when a letter arrives from the government, threatening the Inn and all that Nell holds dear, and someone needs to go on a short journey to the capital to take care of it. Nell is the only one available—but that’s fine, because it’s just a boring business trip, not a quest! Even if she does find herself up against an excitable travel partner, a thief in the night, a stolen treasure, and a mysterious knife . . . Lively black-and-white illustrations by the author embellish this breezy, bighearted adventure that will satisfy both longtime questers and first-time visitors to the genre.

Happy Pride Month, friends! 🌈 Come check out some of the LGBTQIA+ stories we’ve highlighted for you on display, explore ...
06/10/2026

Happy Pride Month, friends! 🌈 Come check out some of the LGBTQIA+ stories we’ve highlighted for you on display, explore our shelves, and have a conversation with our booksellers to discover even more books meant for you to read (and share with us what we don’t have and need to get!). 📚

📚 NEW AT CITY LIGHTS 📚
06/09/2026

📚 NEW AT CITY LIGHTS 📚

THANK YOU to Michael Hettich & Al Maginnes for giving us a wonderful poetry reading Saturday afternoon! We had another a...
06/08/2026

THANK YOU to Michael Hettich & Al Maginnes for giving us a wonderful poetry reading Saturday afternoon! We had another attentive, curious crowd in the Regional Room and feel grateful that you make it feel like home for our author friends.

Signed copies of their books are waiting here for you. Next up this Saturday we have Maria E. Lyons reading at 11am and 1pm from her Angelina the Adventure Cat books (with the real-life Angelina!) and Tyler Auston Jones reading from his poetry collection at 3pm. We hope to see you there!

Our second author event next Saturday: Tyler Auston Jones will visit City Lights on Saturday, June 13th at 3:00pm to sha...
06/07/2026

Our second author event next Saturday: Tyler Auston Jones will visit City Lights on Saturday, June 13th at 3:00pm to share his poetry collection, Obsidian Sun: A Poetry Compilation of Fiery Blackness.

Obsidian Sun is Black brilliance, burden, beauty, and bravery captured in verse. These poems confront the ways society distorts Blackness - how our light is too often dimmed by a skewed lens - yet they also reveal the radiance that has always existed. Light and shadow shape one another, and in that balance, our truth is born.

This collection is more than poetry; it is a series of anthems for self-love, self-protection, and self-care. Each piece serves as a promise to ourselves and a seed of possibility for future generations. These poems don't simply speak-they affirm, uplift, and remind us of who we have always been.

Rooted in truth, protection, grounding, and divination, Obsidian Sun honors the duality of our existence. Obsidian, forged in heat, represents clarity and defense. The sun, the giver of life, represents endurance and illumination. Together, they reflect how we thrive under both the harshest rays and the cloudiest days. We remain. We rise. We create.

We are a constellation of Black stars-collective, luminous, and eternal. Obsidian Sun is not just me, you, him, her, or them... it is all of us, standing in our shadow and our shine, praying to past suns as we blaze new paths of our own.

We have two author events for you next Saturday, June 13th! First, Maria E. Lyons will visit City Lights at 11am and 1pm...
06/06/2026

We have two author events for you next Saturday, June 13th! First, Maria E. Lyons will visit City Lights at 11am and 1pm to present her Angelina the Adventure Cat books. Come meet Maria and the real-life Angelina! Featured titles include:

- Angelina the Adventure Cat and the Garden of Whiskerwinks
- Angelina the Adventure Cat and the Secret of Moonberry Hollow
- Angelina the Adventure Cat and the Moon Watch Night
- Angelina the Adventure Cat Coloring Book: Every Day Is an Adventure!

Maria lives in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina with her husband, their children, and her adventurous cat Angelina, who continues to inspire stories filled with wonder, courage, and God's grace.

NEW AT CITY LIGHTS 📚 🍯
06/02/2026

NEW AT CITY LIGHTS 📚 🍯

Join us next Saturday, June 6th at 3pm to hear Michael Hettich & Al Maginnes read from their latest poetry collections, ...
05/31/2026

Join us next Saturday, June 6th at 3pm to hear Michael Hettich & Al Maginnes read from their latest poetry collections, WAKING UP ALONE and SECOND LINE.

Address

3 East Jackson Street
Sylva, NC
28779

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 3pm

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