Bookstore Explorer

My guest this week is Stacy Hardin of the Peoria Book Rack in Peoria, Illinois. Stacy tells us how she went from drawing her dream bookshop layouts in a childhood journal to now owning a decades-old shop that she has visited since she was 12 years old.

Books We Talk About: The works of Stephen King, John Saul, Rebecca Yarros, and Sarah J. Maas.

The Bookhouse Hotel is a 4-room boutique hotel nestled in the heart of downtown Kennett Square, PA. Housing over 5,000 books, it is a haven for bookworms or anyone else looking for a uniquely cozy place to relax and unwind. Co-owner Stephanie Olenik joins the podcast to tell us how this historic building, which had most recently been a bookstore, is keeping the book magic alive. Learn more and book your stay at https://thebookhousehotel.com.

Books We Talk About: A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The Potter’s House is a nonprofit café, bookstore, and event space in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Since opening in 1960, it has been a key place for deeper conversation, creative expression, and community transformation. Joining me to share the shop's story are Executive Director Andrea Lewis and bookseller Eliza Cohen. 

Just a heads up: We did have some audio and connectivity issues here and there that I've done my best to minimize.

Books We Talk About: Kindred by Octavia Butler, Pleasure Activism by Adrian Marie Brown, The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin, and the works of Jesmyn Ward, James McBride, and K. O'Neill.

This week, we head back to Michigan once more to chat with Joanna Brookshire, owner of Brooks Books in Wyandotte. 

Books We Talk About: The works of Johnathan Rands, Ronald Malfi and Kate Morton.

This week, we're in Mentone, Indiana, to visit with Maddie Anweiler, the "Pete" in Pete & Freddy's Pages Aplenty. In this open and candid conversation, we discuss Maddie's shift from a partnership to a one-person shop, the importance of bookstores to small towns, and of course who the heck are Pete and Freddy! 

Books We Talk About: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Annie Barrows, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, the Saga series by Brian K. Vaughan, and the works of Eva Ibbotson and TJ Klune.

This week, we welcome Shane Gottwals, owner of Gottwals Books, a shop that began as a used and new bookstore in 2007 and has developed into a chain of stores carrying a wide range of genres for all age groups and interests. 

Go deeper into the story of Gottwals Books with Chapter By Chapter: The Gottwals Books Story, available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znsfw_2G_Fk. 

Books We Talk About: The works of C.S. Lewis, Wendell Berry, Andrew Peterson, Rick Bragg, Rabbit Room Press and Wolfbane Books.

This week, we visit with Nannette Crane-Post, owner of Black Ribbon Books in Hot Springs, Arkansas. This unique bookshop is located inside the historic Arlington Hotel. Nannette shares the town's and the hotel's rich history and discusses the balancing act of running  a bookshop while juggling another full-time job.

Books We Talk About: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Upstream by Mary Oliver, The Vapors by David Hill, and the books of Marilynne Robinson, Katherine May and T.C. Boyle.

It's a Very Special Bookstore Explorer as we welcome essayist, radio personality and podcaster Julia Pistell to go bookstore exploring. Julia is cohost of Literary Disco, alongside actor and filmmaker Rider Strong and novelist and critic Tod Golderg. We discuss that show, her other impressive literary credentials, and her favorite bookstore explorations. Listen to Literary Disco wherever you get podcasts!

Books We Talk About: Circe by Madeline Miller, Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee, and the books of Anthony Horowitz. (And, okay, several others!)

Happy Halloween! Books Around the Corner is the perfect business to spotlight this time of year. It's an online store specializing in spooky reads. Guest Stephanie Rose discusses taking her woman- and disability-owned bookshop from a successful brick and mortar to a successful online store. 

Books We Talk About: Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree, Starter Villian by John Scalzi, Into the Mist by P.C. Cast, Holly by Stephen King, Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild, This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham, The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Pledge by Cale Dietrich, Nestlings by Nat Cassicy, Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie, Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah, and My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine.

This week, we head back to Michigan and talk with Beth Dumity, owner, and Marissa McVety, manager, at R&B Used Books in Grand Blanc. We discuss giving back to the community and how they're still learning after 20 years in the business. 

Books We Talk About: The books of Mariana Zapata, Chloe Liese, John Sandford, John Grisham, Jonathan Kellerman and Robyn Carr.