For as long as I’ve been sentient, and probably even before that, I’ve loved books and reading. Some of my favorite memories live in the children’s section of the Barnes & Noble in Plymouth Meeting, PA and Children’s Book World in Haverford, PA, which, by the grace of a higher power and in the face of corporate overlords, joyfully still exists.
Childhood favorite series of mine like Magic Treehouse1, Geronimo Stilton, and My Weird School paved the way for my love of angsty teenage texts like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Go Ask Alice. My 11th grade English teacher (shoutout to Mr. Hackett of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School fame) introduced me to classic American works like Catcher in the Rye and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, both of which blew my mind. I’m not much of a re-reader, but I know I need to revisit these titles at least once more in my lifetime (and rewatch Jack Nicholson’s Oscar-winning performance in the film adaptation of Cuckoo’s Nest).
In college, reading went to the wayside; I couldn’t find the time between partying in New Orleans and “studying” (I’m being cheeky with the quotation marks—some studying was done), but one book I bought at the Tulane bookstore on a whim brought me back to the pastime that’s defined my life: a 2015 biography called The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, written by the former college roommate of the book’s main subject. Plus, before it’s devastating closure, I frequented the uptown indie gem Maple Street Bookshop, patronizing the store with pride. If I ever read a single book I purchased there, I can’t recall, but I did my best to keep the business afloat before its ultimate end (after over 50 years in service!).
Since 2018, reading has returned to being a major force in my life. I’m not the world’s fastest reader—in a good year I average somewhere between 20 - 30 titles. When I’m not reading, I’m thinking about reading, writing, or (ideally) visiting a bookstore or library. According to my Swarm account, an app by Foursquare that I use to log places I’ve been since December 2021, I’ve visited bookstores 244 times, the actual number probably being a bit higher because I either forget to log a visit or because the bookstore hadn’t been added to the app. 228 weeks and 2 days have passed since I first tracked a bookstore visit in Swarm to Kilgore Books & Comics, a used bookstore treasure in Denver’s Cap Hill neighborhood, which means I’m averaging about 1.7 bookstores per week over the last four-and-a-half years. In some ways I treat reading and bookstores like a sport, but it really is a hobby and a joy.
With this obsessive love of reading and bookstores, in recent years I’ve started to wonder if becoming a bookseller and store owner could be a viable path for me in life. I have at least one note in my phone detailing my lofty ambitions for a future brick and mortar, but before remotely entertaining those ideas as possibilities, I’ve envisioned something more mobile and small-scale, even smaller than the book vans that are popping up around the US (all of which are aspirational, especially St. Rita’s Amazing Traveling Bookstore).
Enter: the book cart.
On my 31st birthday last month, in addition to the eight books I acquired, I bought myself a present: an art cart on wheels that I’ll wheel around town (though it’s actually rather heavy when stocked) to sell used books. I’ve started sourcing books all over Denver, from my neighborhood Goodwill, to library sales, to donations—to the point that the cart is now full—and I’m even selling at my first market, esp’s First Friday Festival on June 5. If you’re in Denver, I hope to see you there!
In late March, esp put out a call for vendors to apply to participate in their First Friday fests from May - October. Fresh off a trip to Nashville, I had what felt like a cosmic encounter and experience at East Nashville Books, a year-old used bookshop owned by a woman who appears to be around my age (though I famously cannot tell how old anyone is) named Carrie. Living in Nashville with a remote job, Carrie felt disconnected from her city, so she opened a used bookstore to further embed herself and share her love of reading and books with fellow Nashvillians (and travelers). Carrie inspired and instilled the confidence in me to start my own used bookselling venture, and it was with that confidence that I applied and was accepted to vend at esp’s First Friday Festival.
For now, I’m merely hoping to break even and do as Carrie does—meet fellow Denverites and connect over a love of books and reading. Maybe I’ll sell someone their new favorite book, an honor just to imagine. In addition to used books, I’ll be selling some merchandise designed by my husband, a true champion and supporter of Allie’s Book Cart. I’m keeping everything mostly analog and local for now, but if you want to support Allie’s Book Cart from afar, you can follow along on Instagram, subscribe to/share this Substack2, or shop my affiliate storefront on bookshop.org3. It’s all a work-in-progress, so you’ll see more coming from each venue soon.
All books linked here are linked to Allie’s Book Cart affiliate storefront on bookshop.org. If you purchase any titles linked here, I will earn a portion of the proceeds. Sharing this for transparency, and thank you!
I’ll be starting up a section of this Substack just for Book Cart updates, so if you’d rather tune in just for those, keep an eye out for my new Substack section and subscribe.
If you’re not local or loyal to an indie bookstore near you, please consider shopping bookshop.org (not my affiliate, just in general) as an alternative to Amazon! The inventory is just as big, and a portion of proceeds goes directly towards supporting indies.