Hi EDIWTB Readers!
I am posting today with some very exciting news.
I am opening a bookstore!
Owning a bookstore has been a dream of mine for a very long time. (If you’re a reader of this blog I don’t think I need to tell you why.) I’ve spent the last 18 months or so planning this out, acquiring an amazing partner, developing a business plan, finding a place, negotiating a lease, and learning everything I can about opening a bookstore. It’s finally happening, and I can finally tell you all about it.
Wonderland Books will be located in the heart of Bethesda, MD, a suburb of Washington, DC about 10 minutes from my house. The space used to be a shoe store, but their lease is up and they are moving out in the next week. Then our landlord will do some demolition and construction, and then our designer will get in there to install floors and lighting and a new bathroom. Then come the shelves, then come the books, and then we open. Hopefully we will open our doors to customers in October, in plenty of time for the holidays.
We announced the store publicly last week, and the response was amazing, especially from people in the area. It seems Bethesda is really ready for a bookstore. There was a Barnes and Noble there that closed 7 years ago, and it has been a book desert since then. I had a feeling it would be a good place to open a store – there are condominiums going up everywhere – and it looks like my hunch was right.
So what does this mean for you, EDIWTB readers??
The answer is… I don’t know. In an ideal world, I would keep up the blog AND co-run the bookstore. I just don’t know how realistic that is, though. My reading has really slowed down this year as I’ve taken this on, and I worry that I won’t be able to keep up the reading pace and write reviews. I am going to try, though. I’ll just have to see how things go in the fall. Please bear with me as I figure things out.
Also – and this is a tough one – since I launched the blog in 2006, I have been unfailingly honest in my reviews. If I don’t like something about a book, I’ve told you so. What good is a review blog if the reviews aren’t honest? This gets a lot harder when the author may be someone we want to invite to come to the store, for example, or if it’s a book we are promoting. I will have to navigate these waters while still trying to provide a valuable resource to you.
Over the next few months, I’ll share updates on the construction of the store, the bookshelf design, the books – all of it. Please follow along here and on Facebook and Instagram. You can also support the store by buying books from Bookshop and designating Wonderland Books as your store. We will get a commission on everything you buy! If you want to join our store mailing list, please do so here.
And finally, a request – please support our Indiegogo campaign. Opening a bookstore is very expensive and we are funding it ourselves. Any little bit helps, and there are some fun perks! If you feel like making a donation, we will be very grateful and you will be part of our bookstore community!
Thank you, EDIWTB readers, for bearing with me during this transition! And come visit Wonderland Books if you’re in town!