IndieBound Blog

Love’s Sweet Arrow is a romance bookstore in Tinley Park, Illinois. Originally opened by mother-daughter duo Marissa and Roseann Backlin in 2019, the shop recently celebrated its five year anniversary. 

Every year, Love’s Sweet Arrow celebrates Bookstore Romance Day, so Bookselling This Week met with Marissa Backlin to learn more about the store and what they have planned for this Bookstore Romance Day.

The Bookloft has a long history in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Founded in 1974, 2024 is The Bookloft’s fiftieth year of operation. Owner Giovanni Boivin talked to us about the store’s rich history, the challenges they're  facing, and the plans for the future. 

Elliott Bay Book Company is a landmark of the Seattle indie scene and is undoubtedly one of the more well-known indie bookstores in the country. With more than 150,000 titles across some 20,000 square feet, Elliott Bay is massive by indie standards. 

I met with co-owner, Tracy Taylor, to hear more about the store’s history, the transition to ownership, and the owners’ goals for the future.

Pranati "Pranoo" Kumar (she/they/we) is the owner and founder of Rohi’s Readery, a social justice driven children’s bookstore (and learning center) in West Palm Beach, Florida. Since opening in 2021, Rohi’s Readery has since built a strong community presence with a collection designed to center historically marginalized communities and an event schedule packed with educational programming for all ages. And in the last six months, the Readery has added a nonprofit arm and won a bid to purchase a property in a historic Black community.

Linzi Murray is the founder and owner of Reading in Public, a bookstore and cafe located in West Des Moines, IA. Murray drew on her graphic design background and her lifelong love of reading in order to build the beautiful and welcoming shop she has today. Reading in Public recently passed its one year anniversary, so Murray sat down with me to discuss her inspiration, operation, and the challenges she faced along the way.

Dr. Clover Tamayo (they/siya) is the founder and owner of Clover Daydreams in Tacoma, Washington. As a queer, disabled, Filipino American, Tamayo created Clover Daydreams with the goal of being a safe and inclusive book space and curates a collection that centers queer, trans, BIPOC, disabled, and marginalized voices. Tamayo sat down with me to discuss the origin of Clover Daydreams and the store’s unique environment and services.