Book People - Austin, Texas

Are indie bookshops supposed to have electric sliding doors? This was my first thought walking into Austin's Book People. Did I get the wrong store? Certainly, no one makes door-specific rules for bookstores—well, local governments, but that's besides the point—but this is some Barnes and Noble stuff.

Reader, I am happy to report that this store turned out to be the best-case scenario, a Holy Grail of sorts: an independent bookstore large and successful enough to have three floors and electric sliding doors.

Austin's Book People reminds me of my childhood Borders, which was a fantastical wonderland to me in the early 2000s. (And yes, I'm still in mourning.) Unlike it's smaller, more library-like colleagues, Book People never loses the feel of a retailer, but has found other ways of making the store comfortable and inviting. One is their coffee shop, always a plus, but the other is their arts & crafts approach to the store. The cook book section had a display inside an old oven, their fiction displays were placed on low tables decorated with wrapping and craft papers, and scattered throughout the store, several booksellers have their own recommendation walls, fully decorated and including pictures of them with various visiting authors. Their genre sections are enormous: the comedy section was divided into "Verbal Comedy" and "Visual Comedy," while the classics section featured a recommendation shelf a mile long. They also started the poetry shelf with a spotlight of Austin indie poetry publisher, Write Bloody Publishing. Starting to understand why this felt like 8-year-old me's happy place?

This space is definitely built for author events for readers young and old. On the second floor, behind the children's and middle grade sections, is a theater-in-the-round sort of space for storytime. There was another podium and stage space in the store for other author events, of which there are many; the store has a theatre marquis-style sign announcing upcoming events outside and an entire wall covered in photos of authorial visitors. I didn't get the opportunity to catch an author event, but evidence would suggest that they are well0oiled events.

Returning to Book People feeling more like a retailer. This is not just because of the decor of the store, but the fact that they do sell a lot of gifts and housewares and other items, both book-related and not. This always bums me out a bit, that stores seem unable to survive on books alone. That being said, there is nothing wrong with selling other items; bookstores alone have supplied my enamel pin obsession. There are some ways that Book People used the intersection of books and supplies to great effect. For example, the religion and philosophy sections are housed next to a section of incense and other devotional items. (Side note: They had a massage station that stressed students could purchase an hour of relaxation.)