Ladybird Books: Good Reads And Good Eats With A Champion of Charleston

How refreshing, that bookstore owners are a reflection of their varying personalities, right? Tall, lanky and smiling, Summer Anderson winds her way through her shop, Ladybird Books of Charleston, greets me and shakes my hand, leaning over to straighten various books along the way. She is the epitome of friendly charm, as we immediately connect over a shared love of literature, reading and writing.

Sassy, sultry and Southern, Anderson, when asked what it’s like to realize her dream of owning a bookstore, replies, “Well, buckle up, honey!” As to expectations for her new endeavor? “I really didn’t have any. And we’ve only been open a little over six months.”

There it is. The softened candor of a self-realized creative who refuses to be pinned down. As a lifelong lover of reading, and publisher of her long-running book review platform “Summer Says,” she explains, “I thought that was fine. It allowed me to happily use my talents, and I had kids at home.” But the impetus to scratch her itch for launching a bookstore occurred when her parents passed away a month apart. “The loss enabled a shift in perspective,” she said. “Suddenly, the things you really want to do aren’t put on hold any longer.”

At Ladybird, you’ll find a finely tuned blend of genres–books about the South, books about musicians, vinyl, stationary, and a “How to be Human” section that creates a hub of not just reading material, but a place to gather, relax and decompress. ”I’m lucky to have crazy talented, people surrounding me, my band of merry sisters, my ladybirds,” says Anderson of the shop’s name–and a term of endearment for the women in her life. A firm belief of  “when the time is right, the doors open,” confirmed her path, as she lives her dreams in Charleston with family, friends, and colleagues.

1) Must-know breakfast spot in town? And your go-to dish on the menu?

Babas on Wentworth. For me, a whole milk latte and a piece of their quiche just cannot be beat. They really don’t mess around in there, and it is our #1 staff favorite.

2) Best book to bring along for dining solo?

“Heart, the Lover” by Lily King. We have sold more of this book in our store since opening than any other. It’s just heaven!

3) Local writer everyone must discover?

Pat Conroy. People who visit the store have a real desire to wrap their arms around the Lowcountry and all that it entails, and he is, hands down, the perfect candidate for the job.

4) Favorite chef memoir or cookbook?

For a chef memoir, Gabrielle Hamilton’s “Blood, Bones and Butter” knocked my socks off. All my friends and I had a deep love affair with her restaurant, Prune, right off Bowery in NYC. We were young and living in the city, and the boiled peanuts they brought to the table when you sat down soothed my southern soul. You could also tell she was doing it her own way in there; it was magic. For a cookbook, I will go with the woman who, other than my mother and grandmother, has played the biggest role of mentor in the worlds of cooking and entertaining for me. The only, the only, Ina Garten! Any book of hers will bring glad tidings of great joy.

5.) Signature cocktail to accompany the consumption of literature? Gin and tonic, with Yuzu lime juice to shake it up.

6.) Anne Tyler wanders into your shop. Where would you send her for dinner? Vern’s, because it’s the best meal I’ve ever had, and not just in Charleston!

7.) William Faulkner strolls in a moment later. Where would you send him?

I would offer to squire him around and not wanting to squander my chance to develop a friendship with an idol, who cares if he’s dead, I would need to really milk the situation. We would begin with oysters and cocktails at Obstinate Daughter on Sullivans, so he can see the beach, then make our way down to Chez Nous to hopefully snag a seat outside and pretend we are in Europe for a few hours and end the evening with a nightcap at Seahorse. I think he would be very charmed by the play they wrote about the building and inhabitants, a New England sailor and his wife who move to Charleston before the sailor goes to sea and never returns. The wife opens a tavern, and the husband never returns, genius!

8.) Favorite book for a 3-hour airport delay?

Man, oh man, I would say “Calamity Club” by Kathryn Stockett, which comes out in May, because I read and loved her debut novel, “The Help” before it came out and it’s upwards of 650 pages, so you will be able to really sink your teeth into it before you even take off.

9.) The one dining experience in Charleston no one should miss. Hometeam BBQ, baby, or a burger at Little Jack’s always hits the spot.

10.) If you could dine with any author, living or dead, who would that be? I think Carson McCullers is my choice. I fell in love with her while writing my 10th-grade term paper on “A Member of the Wedding,” which began my love affair with Southern Lit.