Rain again = Waterproof containers and hope needed.

The book club doubled: added a 1 p.m. slot, but the 6:30 meeting is the one that's filling. September 15th, two meetings, one day, Stef is excited! Husbands and Lovers—historical novel set in 1950s Cairo and present-day New England, about sisters and family (maybe a bit more romance than some people expected?)

Stef's consolidating storage, closing the second unit (her old art studio) by October 1st. That's 50 boxes of books moving from studio to garage to house—10 boxes a week. Cutting expenses, creating space.

Today: contract negotiations on the pop-up. She asked for first right of refusal on the concept maybe a ballsy move, but definitely strategic.

But the real work is in the back end—what she calls "the book problem." In affluent areas, people buy books, support authors, support indie bookstores, then end up with too many books at home. After sorting into online, nonprofit, and in-store channels, what happens to the remnants? The school textbooks no one wants. The woodworking guides. The niche books someone spent energy writing that still hold value.

That's the business, figuring out what no one else has figured out.

On the front end, she's launching a community review system—readers writing two-sentence reviews, inserted in books before shelves. Keeping books from being treated as commodities and adding provenance bookmarks upon contribution (where did this book come from?). Building human touch into self-checkout pop-up inventory.

Current Book Count: ~20,000+

Follow along as The Phoenix Used Bookshop continues to rise—subscribe to A Bookshop of My Own and get updates at phoenixusedbookshop.com.

Links mentioned:

• Community book reviews: stef@phoenixusebookshop.com
• Phoenix En Plein Air Book Club - still room!
• Submit a book request.