A new chapter 

The Capital City may soon get a new name: The Capital of Indie Bookstores. 

Independent bookstores have been around in Lansing for decades, with staples like Curious Book Shop and Schuler Books and Music. Along with those fixtures, and despite the pandemic, the area has seen a handful of newer shops pop up in the last few years, bringing in different themes and perspectives to the traditional book store experience. 

A few of these shops are neighbors on REO Town’s Washington Avenue, a stretch now dubbed “Bookshop Row.” Wayfaring Booksellers, The Robin Books, and Deadtime Stories: True Crime and Other Books are all within a block of each other. 

Casey Holland and Eleanor Richards, who co-own Wayfaring Booksellers, 1027 S. Washington Ave., met while working at Curious Books and (the shop’s companion store) Archives Book Shop, in East Lansing. Owning a bookstore was a shared dream for the pair, and the two turned the dream into reality last year with a space inside REO Town Marketplace. Shoppers can browse a selection of primarily used books from science fiction, fantasy and mystery genres. 

Holland said they are “still learning the ropes” of what owning and running a business is like. 
“Bookstores are a special kind of magical place,” Holland said. “You come in here, and you can meet new people and be exposed to new ideas. There’s that saying: you find books that make you feel less alone.” 

Holland noted many of her fellow indie bookstore owners in the area have been very helpful in giving them advice on running a shop. Just down the road from the marketplace that houses Wayfaring is The Robin Theatre, home of The Robin Books, 1105 S. Washington Ave., Lansing. 

Co-owner Dylan Rogers started the bookshop in 2021 as a way for the theater to financially get by and also give himself something to focus on, with the cancellation of ticketed events during the shutdown. He said the bookshop aspect of The Robin has given him time to slow his pace, compared to what life was like pre-pandemic. 

“As we emerge into this next phase, I want to do some things differently,” Rogers said. “The bookstore has, in a way, allowed me to do that, to some extent — limiting my hours and finding space to think and just be in a place.” 

He grew his inventory of gently used literature through estate sales and auctions. Rogers takes donations and buys books from the public, operating The Robin Books on Fridays and Saturdays. 

Across the street and a couple doors down from The Robin Books is Deadtime Stories: True Crime and Other Books, 1132 S. Washington Ave., Lansing, a spot for lovers of horror, true crime and dark history. Owner Jenn Carpenter started Deadtime Stories as an extension of her business, Scream Queen Productions. 

“We’re definitely the only bookshop of our kind in the Midwest,” Carpenter said. “I’ve done extensive research, and I have not found a single other one.” 

Carpenter started Deadtime Stories in 2020, operating in the basement of Old Town’s Thrift Witch. She said she quickly outgrew the space, eventually making the move to her own storefront in March 2021. Social media has helped her gain attraction, even though Carpenter said “social media promotion is exhausting.” 

After others insisted, Carpenter gave TikTok a try. She’s got nearly 30,000 followers (@screamqueen517) because of her scream queen content, most of which revolves around what’s going on at Deadtime Stories.  

“I started putting some energy into TikTok and the following grew pretty quickly,” Carpenter said. “The videos get around pretty well. And that really opened up the people that are coming from other states to see us.” 

Carpenter added she’s glad to be part of the recent explosion of indie bookstores in Lansing. It’s even better that each store has its own niche content, and the diverse batch of store owners champion one another.  

“We took that love of books and bookstores, then applied our own personal style to each one,” she said. “We’re very supportive, and we make sure to send customers each other’s way.” 

One of the other new shops in the REO Town area is A Novel Concept, 222 S. Washington Square, Lansing, which started last year in the Middle Village Micro Market on Washington Square. 

“We primarily focus on featuring underrepresented voices, which is something a lot of the other bookstores also touch on,” said Elise Jajuga, co-owner of A Novel Concept. “But we are also very big on approachability and accessibility. We want our place to be warm and comfortable.” 

Jajuga met Christine Bennett, the other co-owner and co-founder of the shop, during a game of adult kickball back in 2017. The two were involved in the same book club, and shared an obvious passion for literature. 

Bennett added they pride themselves on being able to give customers personalized recommendations on which literature to read. She also is grateful for the camaraderie among the indie bookstores in Lansing, especially with a “common competitor in Amazon and other big-box chain stores.” 

“One of our long-term goals is putting Lansing on the map as an indie bookstore capital of the country,” Bennett said. “It would be really cool for Lansing to be the model that other cities look to, to say, ‘Look, indie bookstores are not dying, because we can see the success they’re having and the support they’re getting from the community.’” 

Another bookstore that opened in Lansing this year was The Resistance, 515 W. Ionia St., founded by Emily Dievendorf and Fae Mitchell. With the motto “From books to boots,” the two hope to inspire change and healing within the Capital City community. It was founded on the belief that oppressed communities should have the opportunity to be celebrated and represented. 

“We started on an effort to create a space that is focused on all of the communities that are impacted by oppression, and lack of access to opportunity,” Dievendorf said. 

She wants The Resistance to be a shop where customers can see themselves “more accurately represented in both fiction narratives and in accounts of history” rather than how they would be in a traditional bookstore or library setting. 

“We wanted to do that because of the challenges we see at this time in history to build stronger social movements, and build better bonds with each other, so we can make stronger, faster progress towards our own equity,” Dievendorf added. 

Nyshell Lawrence, owner of Socialight Society in the Lansing Mall, 5454 W. Saginaw Hwy., is also hoping to spark important conversations about celebrating Black women. She founded Socialight in 2021 as a pop-up, but then upgraded to her own storefront in January. Inspiration for the shop came after Lawrence visited a bookstore with her husband and noticed its minuscule, disappointing selection of women of color authors.  

“It’s really important for people to be able to see themselves, whether that’s in books or commercials or whatever,” Lawrence said. “A lot of times, especially in the Black community, we are underrepresented and the standard we have to look up to does not look anything like us.” 

Lawrence noted it’s “been a long time since there was a dedicated Black bookstore.” But, luckily, her shop is a step in the right direction.  

“That’s inspirational for kids,” said Lawrence, the mother of four daughters. “Moms come in here with their daughters and say, ‘This is a Black woman who owns this store.’ It’s sad we have to say that, but it’s necessary because the representation hasn’t always been there.” 

In Socialight, customers can expect to see classic, contemporary and children’s literature — most of which is authored by women of color. Lawrence wanted to make the store feel homey and familiar for her customers. With that in mind, she filled the cozy shop with emerald green couches, cushioned chairs and an electric fireplace on the back wall. 

Lawrence also commented on the companionship among many of the newer indie bookstores. Each shop is “very important,” especially with many being women owned. 

“Bookstores, for a long time, have been about more than just books,” Lawrence said. “They’re hubs to celebrate culture and to find like-minded people. As long as there’s history, as long as there’s creativity, as long as there are still folks out there making, there’s definitely going to be a need for bookstores.” 

Scott Harris, owner of Everybody Reads, 2019 E. Michigan Ave., has used his shop as a learning center for community members since its establishment in 2006. Harris was moved to start the shop after identifying community resources to get him and his daughters through the grief of his wife’s passing in 2002.  

“We were fortunate in that we were able to identify resources in our community and take advantage of those,” Harris said. “As a result, the kids and I were able to work through grief and heal.” 

He wanted those resources to be available for all community members, especially those who are “underserved and underrepresented” and may not have had easy access to such resources. From the jump, he ensured the shop was a spot for people to learn about different topics aside from family constructs — like feminism, the environment and mental health. 

Harris described the atmosphere of the Michigan Avenue store to be “disarming,” and for those who may not fit in elsewhere, he wanted it to feel like a “safe space” for everyone.  

“That was a huge part of our original mission, to make certain we would find books that showed all different permutations of families, whether it was a single-parent household or an LGBTQ household,” Harris said. “We wanted all the kids to feel like they could come into our store and see something that looked like their family.” 

Down the road in East Lansing, is Curious Book Shop, 307 E. Grand River Ave., an independent bookshop that’s been surviving since 1970. Along with its other location, Archives Book Shop, 519 W. Grand River Ave., which opened in 1987, both locations have become destination spots for literary buffs across the state.  
Both used book shops were founded by Ray Walsh, who started selling books as a student at Michigan State University in the late ‘60s. Walsh got his start after buying 1,000 science-fiction paperbacks for $100. Customers can find thousands of books at both locations, though Curious tends to carry more popular culture items and Archives has culture and history literature. 

He said he wishes the new indie shops well, and he’s “glad that people are still reading” physical books. Buying from a brick-and-mortar shop allows for customers to inspect books and judge their condition, compared to buying online or purchasing digital literature.  

“You always go by somebody else’s judgment of the book,” Walsh said of online book buying. “What one person calls acceptable may not be acceptable to you.” 

An alternative spot to purchase used books is the Used Book Shop in the Grand Ledge Area District Library, or GLADL, at 131 E. Jefferson St. Many other libraries in the area — like the Capital Area District Library — have similar programs in place.  

Stefanie Black, GLADL’s marketing coordinator, said that anyone can come in to purchase used books, not just library card holders. Book prices are set at whatever amount the buyer would like to donate, Black explained. 

“It’s important to be accessible for our community so they can get books for what they want to pay,” Black said. “They don’t have to go and pay full price at a bookstore for something that may have been on our shelves for a bit.”

Looking for a book? Here’s where to find it in Greater Lansing 

Triple Goddess Bookstore, 2019 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing 

Everybody Reads LLC, 2019 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing 

The Resistance Bookstore, 515 W. Ionia St., Unit 2, Lansing 

Book Burrow (inside the Capital Area District Library), 401 S. Capitol Ave. 

Wayfaring Booksellers, 1027 S. Washington Ave., Lansing 

Curious Book Shop, 307 E. Grand River Ave., East Lansing 

Archives Book Shop, 519 W. Grand River Rd., East Lansing 

A Novel Concept, 222 S. Washington Square, Lansing (2021) 

Deadtime Stories: True Crime and Other Books, 1132 S. Washington Ave., Lansing 

Coyote Wisdom Bookstore, 2338 N. Grand River Ave., Lansing (2019) 

Minds Eye Publishing, 3218 Reo Road., Lansing  

Socialight Society, 5454 W. Saginaw Hwy., Lansing 

Schuler Books, 1982 W. Grand River Road, Okemos (Meridian Mall) 

The Robin Books (inside the Robin Theater), 1105 S. Washington Ave., Lansing 

Summit Comics and Games, 216 S. Washington Square, Suite B, Lansing 

A&A Comic Book Store, 421 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Lansing 

Bestsellers Bookstore, 360 S. Jefferson St., Mason 

Used Book Sale shop (in GLADL), 131 E. Jefferson St., Grand Ledge 

The Bookshelf (Holt), 2495 N. Cedar St., Holt 

Barrett’s Books, 111 W. Grand River Ave., Williamston 

The Book Farm, 141 W. Grand River Ave., Williamston