Tina Long has been a bookworm since she was little. For most of her life, she dreamt of opening a bookstore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had dreamt that it would be something you do when you retire,\u201d she said. \u201cI would open a little cozy bookstore and just be this old lady surrounded by books.\u201d<\/p>\n
But after feeling burnout and post-pandemic stress pile up, Long decided to speed up her timeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI realized that it might be OK to just start your dream earlier in life,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tina and her husband, Anthony, now own both Cupid\u2019s Bookshop, a romance bookstore, and Thrillerdelphia, a horror, thriller and true crime bookshop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cupid\u2019s Bookshop<\/a>, on Grape Street in Manayunk, came first and was warmly received<\/a> by the local community. But, Anthony said, there was an appetite for other genres, particularly horror.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cManayunk does have a pretty lively Halloween community,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we also have a haunted house on Main Street called Lincoln Mills, which is open a few different times throughout the year as well. So we felt like there was a good little spooky community here to cultivate as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n From there (a couple blocks down Main Street), Thrillerdelphia<\/a> was born.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSix months in, we realized that we wanted to expand beyond romance,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd Anthony has been managing Cupids with me, and it was great for him to have because he loved horror.\u201d<\/p>\n Thrillerdelphia and Cupid\u2019s Bookshop are just two of the options for readers to enjoy in the city. Novice readers, audiobook lovers or Booktok experts can all find a niche in Philly\u2019s reading scene.<\/p>\n From themed book stores and book clubs to events and social circles, there are plenty of ways to get involved. Billy Penn has put together a small guide.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bookstores\u00a0<\/p>\n Philadelphia has a wide selection of bookshops and stores<\/a> in all parts of the city. There are over 40 bookshops,<\/a> but here are some unique highlights:<\/p>\n A Novel Idea<\/strong><\/p>\n Husband-and-wife team Alexander Schneider and Christina Rosso-Schneider run this East Passayunk bookshop.\u00a0<\/p>\n The store centers around community<\/a> \u2013 offering events such as tarot reading, book discussions and \u201cnight out\u201d date nights for couples. The store also offers classes on a variety of topics (this month\u2019s is a self-love meditation, journaling and a group brainstorming activity!)\u00a0<\/p>\n Check them out at 1726 E Passayunk Avenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n Blindestiff Books<\/strong><\/p>\n This volunteer-run bookstore<\/a> focuses on offering discounted books \u2013 with genres including literary fiction, graphic novels, art, cookbooks and history.\u00a0<\/p>\n The store also offers related merch \u2013 think puzzles, tarot card items and notebooks.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can visit the store in West Philly at 4530 Baltimore Avenue.<\/p>\n Hakim\u2019s Bookstore and Gift Shop\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the first Black-owned bookstores<\/a> in the entire country, this bookshop is a family operation. The store focuses on offering rare books that aren\u2019t available elsewhere, as well as children\u2019s books, African American studies, and other books.\u00a0<\/p>\n The store\u2019s founder, Dawud Hakim, was an African American scholar, author and publisher. His daughters and granddaughters continue to run the store.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can visit the bookstore in West Philly at 210 S. 52nd Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n Head House Books\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Bordering on Queen Village and Society Hill, this bookstore<\/a> aims to serve the community with an experience focusing on ambiance and curated collections.\u00a0<\/p>\n The bookstore, which has been around for over twenty years, frequently holds ticketed events, including author chats and several types of book clubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can visit them at 619 South 2nd Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n Julia De Burgos Bookstore\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This bilingual bookstore <\/a>is the only one of its kind in the Philly area, said Lisa Moser, the bookstore manager.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe only sell books by Puerto Rican and Latinx authors, as well as merchandise by local Latin artists, and merchandise from Puerto Rico,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The bookshop has all book genres in both Spanish and English, but children\u2019s books tend to be most popular, Moser said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThose are really popular because, especially for Puerto Ricans in Philly or anyone that is like wanting to teach their child Spanish, or like having their own cultural heritage reflected in a book,\u201d she said. \u201cThose books are very popular because, if someone is second or third generation, they may want to pass down both the culture and the language to their child.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Moser said the store frequently collaborates with other bookstores like Head and the Hand and Uncle Bobbie\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n The unique focus of the bookstore also attracts people from all over the East Coast, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have become a destination that people actually travel to,\u201d she said. \u201cThey travel from Connecticut or Virginia or Delaware, and make a day trip or weekend trip out of it, because it\u2019s so special. People have told me that they don\u2019t know another bookstore like it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to books, the store also sells local merchandise from Latinx artists, hosts \u201cMeet the Author\u201d events for the community, and supports nonprofit programming for Taller Puertorrique\u00f1o, a cultural center offering community events and youth programming.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can visit them in West Kensington at 2600 N. 5th Street.\u00a0<\/p>\n Uncle Bobbie\u2019s Coffee and Books\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This Black-owned coffee and bookshop<\/a> in Germantown focuses on pairing drinks with a good book.\u00a0<\/p>\n The store\u2019s motto, \u201cCool People. Dope Books. Great Coffee,\u201d embodies its laid-back vibe \u2013 with a selection of various cappuccinos and espressos and book selections that focus on Black authors.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s owned by Mark Lamont Hill, a frequent media contributor who also teaches media studies at Temple, and has regularly hosted notable authors for meet-up events<\/a>.<\/p>\n You can visit Uncle Bobbie\u2019s at 5445 Germantown Avenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n Book Clubs\/Social Events\u00a0<\/p>\n There are a lot of book clubs in the city \u2013 and the sheer number can make finding one that fits your wants and interests a challenge.<\/p>\n Ijanae Dawkins. 27, started the popular \u201cPhilly Book and Sip Club\u201d in the beginning of 2024. The club, which is a chapter of a national \u201cBook and Sip\u201d organization, was created to foster reading in a creative way.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not your average book club,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause essentially, we take the idea of having a book club and having a book discussion with your friends, and just putting it in a new perspective. We\u2019re having these discussions in unconventional environments, like lounges and clubs and places in Philly where you wouldn\u2019t typically talk about books.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n She said the club\u2019s first meeting in January 2024 had less than 10 attendees. Now, her club has 550 active members and a waitlist of almost 1,000 women.\u00a0<\/p>\n She said the club\u2019s signature event is their book parties \u2013 where members dress up, mingle, grab drinks and discuss books at different venues. From there, she said the club\u2019s offerings have expanded.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt started out with just the book party, and then we got feedback from the girls who said they would love to hang out outside of the book party,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The club now offers everything from philanthropy events and workout classes to crafting nights and sporting events.<\/p>\n Dawkins said the biggest part of her club is community \u2013 bringing women together.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s truly a blessing every month to see these girls come together,\u201d she said. \u201cSomeone always comes up to me at the book party saying something like \u2018This is my first book party, and I was so nervous to come, and I made three friends, and we\u2019re going out for drinks and stuff after this. And I probably would have never met them if it wasn\u2019t for you and this club.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The city has many other book club offerings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bookstores often offer their own book clubs. Long said both of her stores, including Cupid\u2019s Bookshop, offer various genre-focused book clubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have four book clubs per store, so it\u2019s like \u2018roman-tasy,\u2019 contemporary, queer book club, and then we have dark romance,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, I think it\u2019s a place for people to gather.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The Free Library of Philadelphia offers book clubs <\/a>\u2013 with options for different age group focuses or book genres. Meetings can also focus on relevant events \u2013 such as an upcoming Black History Month book club event<\/a>.<\/p>\n Websites such as bookclubs.com<\/a> or joinphilly.com<\/a> offer options for focused book clubs as well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A big community\u00a0<\/p>\n For Tina Long, owning and managing two bookshops in Philly has been rewarding.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPhilly loves Philly,\u201d she said. \u201cWe support local businesses. So, I think it\u2019s just been great. The outpouring of support we\u2019ve had for books gives us more of a budget to buy more books, and expand to our second store.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n While the number of bookstores in the region makes Philly an attractive stop for authors on tour, Long said the business is challenging.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think we love books, but I know it\u2019s a really tough environment right now to help a general bookstore, because there\u2019s just so many titles that come out every week and just to store all of it [is a lot],\u201d she said. \u201cThe margins are tight, so you have to find other ways to make it work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Her store has gotten creative with how they approach this problem, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a great relationship with Kiss and Tell [a romantic bookstore], which is in Collingswood, New Jersey,\u201d she said. \u201cSo we try to partner up and do things that will drive business to both our stores.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n She said many bookstores in the city have relationships with one another, making collaboration and business pursuits easier.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition, Tina\u2019s story holds a \u201csilent book club,\u201d where people gather to read in the same room, but wait until the end to socialize.\u00a0<\/p>\n