When I first opened up my bookstore in 2017, I had a wild and crazy idea to, one day, compile an inventory of all the books I have available for sale. Little did I know what a massive undertaking that would be!

When covid-19 struck early in 2020, it became clear that retail shopping was about to be challenged, and it was time for me to pivot and adapt my store to the new reality that the pandemic brought on. First, though, before I could make any sweeping changes, a busy summer season came to Fenelon Falls.

If you know me, or shop here with me, you probably know that summers are a super fun and hectic time around here, and I work 7 days a week, alone in the store, to try and make the most of the summer rush of seasonal visitors to Fenelon Falls.

So, I had to get through the summer of 2020 before turning my attention to evolving business in the bookstore. Then, I got married! After our original plans to elope in April 2020 were squashed, my husband and I decided we didn’t want the pandemic to supersede all the plans we had made and were so excited for this year. We surprised our parents with a quick and casual wedding ceremony at my family’s cottage on Cameron Lake, and then took off for a two-week canoe camping honeymoon trip.

With that little milestone out of the way, I’ve been able to properly turn my attention to the next steps I’ve planned to keep my bookstore moving through the coming months and years, pandemic or no pandemic.

I know that the magic of a bookstore is in the browsing, so I wanted there to be a way for customers to browse my stock from the comfort and safety of their homes. While the website also allows me to reach customers who live further away, and I am happy to ship books, it is my hope that customers living a little closer to Fenelon Falls will use my website to browse for books and then set up a curbside pickup or porch delivery with me.

I’ll also use the website to update the news and goings-on in the store, and may even turn back to my book-blogger roots and write some longer-form book reviews to be shared here in the blogspace. So stick around, check back to see what’s new, and don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you are looking for a book recommendation, or have books you’d like to hand over as a donation or for store credit.

Thanks for checking out my website, and thanks for any support you give to my small business during this challenging time: a like, a share, a book purchase, a book donation - every little bit helps and I appreciate it more than I can begin to say.

Til’ next time, happy reading!