By Zoe Perzo
When Stephanie Csaszar opened a physical bookstore in 2018, she had next to no online presence. But as the pandemic progressed and her own health deteriorated, Csaszar made the shift to a fully online store. Today, Death By TBR Books specializes in genre fiction and operates out of Csaszar’s home in Washington. I sat down with Csaszar to learn how she came to bookselling, how Death By TBR has evolved, and where it’s going in the future.
Photo credit: Stephanie Csaszar
Csaszar saw You’ve Got Mail when she was young, and fell in love with indie bookstores through Kathleen Kelly’s Shop Around the Corner. But she didn’t immediately go into bookselling when she hit adulthood.
Initially, Csaszar went into the mental health field after college. After about five years, she decided it wasn’t right for her.
“The field can take a lot out of you and while it's rewarding it became too taxing on me,” she explained.
But staying in a field that helped people was important to her, so she went back to school and got another master’s degree, this time in library and information science. She worked in part time positions for several years with that degree, but full-time librarian roles were scarce in her area. Anxious and depressed about her career progression, Csaszar talked to her therapist about it.
“He asked me what I wanted to be when I was a kid,” she recalled, “and I answered that I had wanted to open a bookstore but ‘that was crazy.’ My therapist didn't say a word and just looked at me. We talked a lot about it that session and 36 days later my childhood dream became a reality.”
Her store, originally named Books Around the Corner, officially opened in November of 2018. And at first, the store had no online presence at all. Of course, 2020 changed that.
“I never expected to have to face a pandemic in my second year in business but I pivoted.” Csaszar said. “With help, I created a website and listed everything online, and sold books online with videos as well as through a glass door.”
As the pandemic continued, Books Around the Corner had to move locations a few times, and at the same time Csaszar noticed her health deteriorating.
“During that time, a number of health issues surfaced and others became more severe,” she recalled.
For a little while, the shop was open by appointment only, then Csaszar made the decision to move it fully online.
“I had to change my entire business to accommodate my disabilities or close the bookshop,” she explained. “Closing wasn't an option. I am so happy I went fully online. The transition was challenging but I know it was the best decision for me and now I have ‘regulars’ all over the country. I love connecting with readers and customers virtually.”
With the new bookstore model came a new aesthetic, an adorable spooky new logo, and a new name: Death by TBR Books.
“I knew I wasn’t [the same] bookshop anymore,” Csaszar explained. “I was proud of the new chapter of the bookshop and thought it deserved a new name too.”
Csaszar says that being fully online allows her to continue connecting with readers and fostering a (now online) community, while also prioritizing her health.
“Evening is my best time, healthwise,” she explained, and she’s able to arrange her days with that in mind.
Csaszar often sleeps late and enjoys a cup of coffee with her cats before starting her day at Death By TBR. Then she’s checking emails, packing pending orders, posting on socials, and researching new releases from her home office.
Death By TBR is a one-woman show, so Csaszar is single-handedly running everything, including monthly subscription boxes, multiple virtual book clubs, and a monthly watch party.
And since we’re approaching Halloween, Csaszar was excited to tell me about the new products launching this fall!
“We have a Halloween book package (available for all ages) and a Creepmas book package! Our monthly book packages are still picking up but I also wanted a special seasonal package.”
She’s also started a Stinetinglers Midnight Society Book and Watch Club for the R.L. Stine, Goosebumps, Fear Street, and Are You Afraid of the Dark? fans.
And that’s not all. Csaszar revealed that her debut title, Hiding Lies (an adult thriller/horror) will be released in late October 2024.
While Csaszar is thrilled about the new products and programs she’s introducing at Death By TBR Books, it’s clear that she’s most excited by the community she’s built at her bookshop (both when it was physical and now virtually).
“It's incredibly rewarding,” Csaszar said. “This bookshop, the community it helped create, and the incredible people I've met along the way have, in a lot of ways, saved my life.”
While the store has changed a lot since 2018, it continues to fulfill owner Stephanie Csaszar’s childhood dream of opening a bookstore and her desire to help people.
If you want to check out Death By TBR, you can visit the website, Facebook, Instagram, or join the Death By TBR Patreon to access special content and Discord servers.