Bookbound
Owners Peter & Megan Blackshear
AboutPeter & Megan Blackshear are both lifelong book lovers. Peter spent nearly 20 years working for Borders, starting at a store location in the Detroit area and then as a buyer at the headquarters in Ann Arbor. Megan has lived, book-shopped, and job-hopped in Ann Arbor for around 20 years, spending several years working for Food Gatherers.
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Store Information
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Indie InterviewHow would you describe your store to someone who has never visited? Bookbound is an independent community bookstore with a smart selection for sophisticated readers in a warm, unpretentious atmosphere. We are a mom & pop store so at least one of the two owners is on hand any time the store is open. We pay careful attention to our customers' tastes and choose every book ourselves. We are situated in a diverse neighborhood and our selection reflects this. We spend a great deal of time looking at catalogs and lists and try to select the best and most interesting books regardless of whether or not they are best sellers or getting publicity.
What inspired you to open a bookstore? We were both at professional crossroads and were seeking something new. The idea of a bookstore cropped up continually, and while we resisted taking the idea seriously, we couldn't shake it, having both dreamed of such an endeavor throughout our lives. How do you think Bookbound contributes to building community? We provide a welcoming space for people, whether they are planning to buy a book or not. Neighbors run into each other here. Strangers browsing books spark up conversations about shared favorites. We also do our best to support the local writing community by carrying books by area authors and hosting related events. Our monthly poetry series has developed into a comfortable venue for poets of all levels to share their work. We also support and partner with various community nonprofits and schools. What has been your favorite part of owning and/or working in a bookstore? The easy answer is that we get to read, and it counts as work! But even better are the people. We never predicted how personal this would be – getting to know the people in our neighborhood and developing friendships with our regular patrons. There are so many horror stories about working in retail, and we see none of that. There is something very grounding in encountering so many different people each day, a very diverse mix of people, and finding we have so much in common. It is incredibly fulfilling and strengthens one's faith in humanity. What has been your greatest challenge running a bookstore? There is a constant low-level anxiety – are we making the right choices in terms of book selection and events? Are we providing the best service we can? Are we going to make ends meet each month? The level of responsibility we feel to keep this going is deeper than we anticipated because it is so much bigger than us already. But that is also the motivation we need to keep going. What role do you think books and bookstores play in the culture of Ann Arbor? As a teen, I would often come to Ann Arbor for bookstore-hopping (along with a grilled cheese at Drake's!). It has long been a mecca for book lovers, drawing in visitors from all over the region, and serving the very well-read people who live here. Bookstores are part of the greater cultural fabric of the arts – music, performance and visual arts, festivals, university programs – that make Ann Arbor such a special community. We are so grateful to be a part of this new wave of independent bookstores, joining those who have made it through all the ups and downs of the bookstore scene. |
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