About Us

Welcome to Viewpoint Books, Columbus' independent bookseller since 1973.

Please note that books listed may not be in stock today. Call 812-376-0778 or email us at Orders@ViewpointBooks.com to see if they are immediately available. We can order and receive most books within 24-48 hours and there are NO shipping fees!

Online orders do NOT require payment in advance. We invite you to come by Viewpoint Books to pick up and pay for your order. We will apply all credits you've earned through Viewpoint Partners, our no-cost, no-card, no-expiration partnership program. If it's not convenient to stop in, we can handle your order and payment over the phone (812-376-0778) or you may pay by credit card and choose to have your order shipped from the store to you or another recipient for a nominal fee.

Viewpoint Books offers discounts for non-profit groups including public and private schools, churches, and other service organizations. Teachers purchasing books for their classrooms may receive a 10% discount. We also offer competitive discounts to businesses for purchases of 10 or more copies of a title. Please contact us for a quote.

We are pleased to search for out-of-print titles. Just call or email us with your request and we will reply with a quote for the best possible price and condition.

Thank you for your support of Viewpoint Books!

Meet the Pointers… and learn what words matter to them!

Pointers are the people who work at Viewpoint Books. We owe our name to Susan and Terry Whittaker, the truly original Pointers who started Viewpoint Books in Columbus with Susan’s parents back in 1973. Over the years, dozens of people representing diverse ages, beliefs and interests have been lucky enough to call themselves Pointers. What we all share is a love of books. Read on to find out more about the current Pointer team and the words that matter most to us!

Celia Allman-Watts

Celia, a lover of great thrillers, appreciates author Stephen King’s perspective on books: “Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.”

Maya Baker

Junot Diaz’s National Book Award finalist and bestselling novel, This is How You Lose Her, is at the top of Maya’s list of the great books of her life for its insight into male perspectives on gender. When gift-giving, she often chooses The Defining Decade for her peers who want to make the most of their twenties.

Nanne Cutler

Nanne is fond of many classic stories for children and adults. She agrees with Jane Austin who once said, “If a book is well written, I always find it too short.” When selecting gifts for friends and family, she does not choose HER favorite title as she prefers to MATCH the book to the person. (She matches wines to books well, too!)

Suzanne Fountaine

Suzanne’s favorite “book place” is her reading chair in her living room.  Upstream, by the beloved Pulitzer Prize winning Mary Oliver, is a beautifully written book of short essays Suzanne likes to share with others. In this case, it is permissible to choose the book by its cover because Upstream is lovely inside and out.

Grace Hundley

Grace is a cat lover who – like her favorite animal – loves to cozy up in her bed when reading. One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, a classic novel of the 60’s, is the #1 book of her lifetime (thus far). It gave her a new perspective on life.

Bridget Johnson

John Berendt’s suspenseful, hauntingly elegant true crime retelling, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story, tops Bridget’s list of influential books. Thankfully, it’s safely consumed in the cozy comfort of her bed, a favorite place to read.

Cassie Kopp

Cassie’s favorite place for reading is her couch. It just might be in the corner of the room, because you can catch her book reviews on YouTube at Cassie’s Bookish Corner! She’s an expert on fantasy – including nearly every young adult series published – and she agrees with author Sarah J. Maas’s description of libraries as “full of ideas – perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.”

Michelle Malina

The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison prepared Michelle for the day her children would leave home and still sits at the top of the great books of her lifetime. Her favorite place to read is her screened porch in nice weather and she often selects signed fiction when giving book gifts to family and friends.

Angie Revell

Angie, like Lemony Snicket, says, “Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” She loves to give others The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson because it’s a multi-generational family favorite that brings laughter with the joy of tradition.

Linda Schmidt

Linda’s favorite place to read is her screened porch where she especially enjoys summer “beach reads” by Elin Hilderbrand, Meg Mitchell Moore, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Mary Alice Monroe. She heartily agrees with British novelist Elizabeth von Arnim who said, “What a blessing it is to love books.”

Kelli Stricklin

Like many other Pointers, Kelli remembers reading To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee in high school. She lists it with Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell as two books that had a great impact on her life.  Kelli has seasonal favorite places to read: the deck in summer and by the fireplace in the winter.

Polly Verbanic

Miss Polly, as she’s known to generations of children who’ve attended her story times, believes Frederick Douglass was correct when he said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” She can’t pick a favorite book – “That’s like picking your favorite child!” – but she identifies Nobel Laureate economist Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose: A Personal Statement as a pivotal title in her reading history.

Peyton Walsh

When Peyton discovers a book she really likes, she frequently gifts it to a friend to share her newfound favorite. She subscribes to bestselling author George R.R. Martin’s words from A Clash of Kings: “Sleep is good, he said, and books are better.” It’s probably a good thing she loves to read in a coffee shop!

Theresa Wilson

Theresa likes to give the timeless classic children’s book, Corduroy by Don Freeman, to new mothers and grandmothers for inclusion in a child’s first library. She appreciates its message of unconditional love between a little girl and her imperfect toy bear. A comfy chair – with a grandchild on her lap – is her favorite place to read.