Recently, a friend & co-worker shared an invite to an event happening at a bookstore in the Tower District in the middle of the day that looked really fun. I’d never heard of the bookstore, and there was going to be coffee, a food truck, and a custom t-shirt launch in addition to books and that sounded like a great way to spend a lunch break!
Today was my first visit to Bookish, and it won’t be my last! Bookish is located at 520 W. Olive on the southwest corner of Fruit and Olive. It is a used bookstore and gift shop that offers a wide selection of books that are well-sorted and fun to shop through. What may at first seem like a small space is very smartly divided into multiple rooms each with little sitting spaces, and shelves of books to peruse, including a back room located just beyond the register.
Beyond books, there are numerous fun treasures and items to shop for at Bookish. While I visited the shop, I noticed class Disney VHS movies, bookmarks, pins and croc charms, stickers, records, and some really cool vintage décor and glassware. Additionally, the event I attended was held in honor of the shop’s Spring t-shirt collection launch, and matching mugs were available, too!
I got to chat with the store’s owner, Vanessa, who’s slogan for the store is “spreading love a book at a time” and she shared with me that the shop regularly hosts events and book clubs that are open to all.
Bookish definitely appears to be very community-oriented, as you’ll quickly notice by scrolling through their feed on social media. The shop is known to fill Little Free Libraries around the city through donations, host a private tattoo shop in the back room, and partner to support local events like the Rogue Performance Festival! (This year, Bookish will offer 20% off your in-store purchase is you show your Rogue Fest wristband at checkout!) Additionally, there will be an event on March 16th from 12-4pm where you can meet local authors and purchase their books and enjoy some great food, too!
If you’re looking for a cool new place to check out this weekend that’s filled with great community vibes, awesome books, and good people – I highly recommend checking out Bookish. You can stay informed on all of the cool upcoming events happening in store by following their Instagram (@bookish520) and you can even be a little book voyeur and get a peek at what people bought as the shop shares “sold today” pics in their stories, which is actually quite intriguing to watch!
My haul was featured today – I snagged two bread machine cookbooks, as I have a bread machine but only really know like three recipes, a cookbook my mother-in-law had on her Christmas wish list that I’d previously failed to find, a recipe book featuring local restaurant secret recipes from the year I graduated high school, and a book about Italian family cooking. I couldn’t resist a tee, either. Mine features a Fresno skyline with a big pink Bookish book and “we read here too” written on it. I love it!
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Great job with the article, Natali! (I’m a former employee of yours as well as Vanessa’s cousin-in-law). Thank you for highlighting her small business. ❤️????