Around Indies

Rediscovered Books Buys Rainbow Books

Boise, Idaho’s Rediscovered Books has purchased used book store Rainbow Books, effective April 1, with plans to integrate it into the business, reported Boise Weekly.

“We actually had started talking about purchasing a second location. We spent a lot of time last year looking at different places,” said Rediscovered Books co-owner Laura DeLaney. “Then, by happenstance, we heard that Rainbow was available. It was the right decision for a lot of reasons.”

DeLaney said she is looking forward to getting to know the reading community that supports Rainbow Books, which has been in business since 1977 and carries upwards of 25,000 books. The purchase of the store also includes the two-story building it is housed in, and DeLaney plans to keep on longtime Rainbow Books employee Julia Rose.

Books N Things Reopens as The Tribune

Adrienne Cote, who purchased Books N Things in Norway, Maine, earlier this year, has reopened the store under the name The Tribune.

The revamped store now sports a fresh coat of paint, brand-new carpeting, and a variety of new displays of books and gifts, and Cote, a longtime Books N Things customer, also plans to launch book groups for readers ages 13 to 15.

“The most important thing I want people to know is that The Tribune will still be a bookstore,” Cote told the Advertiser Democrat. “This is still the store Erica [Jed] was running. I want people to feel confident that this is still their local independent bookstore.”

The new name, she added, alludes to someone defending the rights of others. “For me, I’m defending my right to be an independent bookseller, and also the rights of my customers,” Cote told the newspaper. “Books are a refuge for people sometimes, and I want to make sure this place feels like a refuge or a safe space.”

Midtown Reader Owner Recognized

Sally Bradshaw, the owner of Tallahassee, Florida’s Midtown Reader bookstore, has been named one of this year’s 25 Women You Need to Know by the Tallahassee Democrat.

Bradshaw spent 30 years in politics before opening Midtown Reader in 2016. “Campaigns are great for young people but the older you get, they are exhausting,” Bradshaw said. “I wanted to do something different and I always thought about opening an independent bookstore.”

The Women You Need to Know program honors women for their leadership and civic accomplishments. The Tallahassee Democrat featured the women selected this year throughout the month of March, Women’s History Month.

Offering advice to other women, Bradshaw said, “It doesn’t matter what you read, it matters that you read. That would be my advice to women — that you can really be yourself and discover yourself through reading.”

From My Shelf Books & Gifts to Focus on Kids

Last year, From My Shelf Books & Gifts in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, offered bookstore lovers the opportunity to submit an essay for a chance to win ownership of the store.

While owners Kevin and Kasey Coolidge did not receive enough submissions to carry out the contest, they have decided to keep the store open on a smaller scale, with a special focus on children’s books, reported Penn Live.

The Coolidges had decided to sell the store with the hopes that Kevin Coolidge would have more time to write children’s books. The downsizing will grant him this time, and allow Kasey Coolidge more time outside of the store.

Once Upon a Time Hosts News Crew for Adoption Story

The local Fox News station in Montrose, California, recently filmed a segment at Once Upon a Time bookstore to shine the spotlight on two children in the area’s foster care system.

Siblings Emma and Eddwin, ages 10 and 9, are both avid readers and visited the bookstore for the filming, where they browsed a number of books and talked about their reading interests, from mysteries to humor to adventure stories.