About Us

Rachel Pastiva

Rachel Pastiva

Rachel Pastiva has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing and a master’s of library and information science. She has been a bookseller for over 20 years: at Borders Books & Music, as the bookstore manager of Crazy Wisdom Bookstore, and currently as the director of the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library. Rachel was on the board of the Ann Arbor Book Festival for three years, an adviser to the Board of the Kerrytown BookFest for one year, and facilitator of a book club about consciousness and spirituality for almost ten years. A great lover of her adopted home of Ann Arbor and the state of Michigan, she enjoys reading books related to regional history, historical fiction, psychology, spirituality, consciousness, health, social sciences, and any other topic that jumps off the shelf at her while perusing Ann Arbor’s independent bookstores.
Karen Alvarez

Karen Alvarez

Karen Alvarez has a bachelor’s degree in art history and a master’s degree in medieval studies. She is a self-described history geek whose favorite activity is visiting museums and historic buildings. She began her career as a museum assistant and eventually became a grant writer for nonprofit organizations. She loves traveling and often seeks out independent bookstores wherever she goes. Her reading interests run the gamut, but her favorite subjects are history, literature, and historical fiction.

Betsy Bloom

Betsy Bloom

Betsy is a website programmer and did our recent website redesign. She fell in love in Ann Arbor when she was an English Lit. major in the 80’s. After 30+ years living other places, she has returned to Ann Arbor and is excited to be part of the literary and bookstore culture! She enjoys reading historical fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, and books that take you to a different place and time.