Local Spotlight: Brookline Booksmith
By Kaylee Wang
When I was young, I was hollered by my mom out of bed and dragged to the same old bookstore where I had to sit and read whatever for the whole morning, every single Sunday. Today, bookstore may sound like an amusement park to kids. A lot of thin books in handy distance covered with adorable animals and gaily-painted colors; puzzles, erector-sets and fluffy toys to play with other folks. Bookstores are still serving as spaces where people can read and pick up their favorite books, but now they have some more exciting functions as well.
Within Boston area, Brookline Booksmith is the epitome of this new type of bookstore.
Located near Harvard Street, Brookline Booksmith is surrounded by a cinema and a bunch of Asian-food restaurants that attract a number of visitors. They were categorized as to target readers looking for different trends of books—kids’ books, best-sellers, new arrivals, used books, books for bargain. They also provide gifts recommended for giving to friends and family during holidays. Next to the windows was a board, painted with radiantly-colored Italian words, listing a wide range of activities in the following couple of days.
Brookline Booksmith has served as a multi-functional space for different groups of people. Nick, one of the general managers of Booksmith said, “the community here is pretty diverse, so we sell lots of both fiction and nonfiction that tables in front of the store. Also near the front, there’s a display of the store’s bestsellers.” Preserving this part of tradition for book-pickers, Booksmith has come up ways to target other groups of visitors. Their strategies manifested in selling other products more than just books.
Nick said they were very fortunate that people came to their bookstore, so Booksmith has always tried to give back to the community. Booksmith has run a book club for many years for kids in schools near the neighborhood, and sometimes the bookstore will have authors read for children. This program has deeply connected with the community by creating a space that draws residents together from the same neighborhood: Usually, the bookstore will have different authors come and read books for children on every Sunday morning at 10:30am. Sometimes there will be five to six students and sometimes there will be much crowded. Different books are read on each weekend so there is no preparation before going to this event— Just prepare yourself with high energy and be ready to have fun with other kids in the community. Nicole who was a writer and editor, has brought her son to this bookstore to attend the reading club for so many times “…it is really just a fascinating subject matter, usually well-attended and well-promoted.” Nicole thinks it necessary to support other writers by going to a bookstore by buying a book or attending its activities. Apart from this, Brookline Booksmith also provides reading programs for adults.
Brookline Booksmith is working to make space in which it connects its readers by a mutual give-back linkage: neighbors support writers and the bookstore by bringing insight to reading clubs within the bookstore, while the bookstore provides a fascinating space to interact with its readers to amplify its impact on the neighborhood. They hope a bookstore can serve as a fresh place to connect with neighbors and authors.