Seven Books that Shaped Seven Years in Business

Seven years, seven books.

Every chapter of Old Town Books has been shaped by stories - both the ones on our shelves and the ones that have carried me through the highs and lows of small business ownership. As we celebrate our seventh anniversary this fall, I wanted to look back at seven books that marked turning points in this journey, each one leaving its imprint on the store and on me.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

I remember reading Jane Eyre for the first time at summer camp in the Virginia mountains. Sticky summer heat, bland buffet food, clouds of bugs. Our cots were hard. The water had a metal tang. It was sort of a torturous experience, that camp, saved only by evenings with a flashlight under the covers, pouring over Jane Eyre in my cabin. I’m sure a lot of it went over my head - I was reading it alone, without footnotes or context. But regardless, it just clicked for me. I fell in love with the Brontës.

*My Penguin clothbound classic edition of Jane Eyre. How many clothbound classics do you have on your shelf? Watch out, because once you get one, they’re addictive!*

That love carried me through college and a Victorian Literature degree. It inspired me to re-read Jane Eyre often as an adult. And it introduced me to books like Claire Herman’s Brontë biography A Firey Heart, which I also loved.

And it was a gateway: Reading Jane Eyre led me to read more of the Brontes, which led me to read more classic literature, which led me to contemporary literature, which led me, ultimately, I guess, to opening a bookstore. It may be a stretch to say Old Town Books exists because of this one book, but whatever the case, one thing is for sure: Jane Eyre is the book that made me a reader.

It feels very full circle now to be seven years into Old Town Books and hosting a Brontë Book Club. If you’re also a lover of Jane Eyre - or even if it’s new to you! - check out our ongoing classics pop-up book clubs. The brainchild of booksellers Nicolle and Leah, these reading groups tackle classics quarterly with group discussions - and tea!

The Sound of A Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

Before moving back home to Alexandria to open Old Town Books in 2018, I lived in Brooklyn. Community Books in Park Slope was my local bookstore. It was there I discovered this little gem of a book about observation, illness, and wonder. And, of course, about snails.

Something about this book really moved me. It’s been years since I read it but it made a huge impression on me. Maybe it’s that connection to Community Bookstore, that it was a staff pick of the owner there, Stephanie.

In writing this I’m now remembering that it was around the same time I got the idea to open a bookstore back home. Stephanie went to lunch with me, gave me advice and encouragement. I’ll forever connect this book with that kindness, and with the magic of Community Bookstore, a place that showed me just how special a local bookstore can be.

*A collection of bookmarks from when I was researching opening a bookstore. Many of these stores answered questions for me and helped along the way.*

Since opening Old Town Books The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating has always been on my staff picks list. We’ve sold 625 copies to date!

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

Susan Choi became one of my favorite authors the first year I opened Old Town Books. I read her campus novel, My Education, and was immediately obsessed with her work. Why? The beautifully simple language plus wildly complex characters had me hooked. You know the way a character’s point of view melts into your own as a reader? That happens to me with Choi’s writing - I felt I inhabited the book.

That spring Trust Exercise was published, and I chose it for our shop book club. It’s wild to say “for book club” and not specify which. But back then, we only had the one - now we have eight!

*I devoured a much-anticipated advance copy of Trust Exercise in a day.*

At book club there was a lot to talk about, which if you’ve read the book you know just what I’m talking about. The drama! The prose! The structure! The teenage angst! It was a memorable night, one that helped shape my vision for book clubs going forward. The heated discussion and huge turnout lit me up. It made me realize how badly I wanted to double down on community building around books like this - Trust Exercise was the first discussion that really made that vision a reality.

One year later, COVID hit. We closed the bookstore not knowing when we’d be able to reopen. I was pregnant, and freaking out, tail spinning about not being able to pay my rent, or my booksellers. I decided to make a plea on social media for authors who might want to help support a small indie bookstore.

To my surprise, the now National Book Award Winning Susan Choi stepped up to lead a craft talk on Zoom, with 100% of the proceeds going back to Old Town Books.

It’s because of the support from authors like this that Old Town Books weathered the early COVID days. The funding helped us pivot to being an online fulfillment center during the pandemic, it allowed us to offer paid sick days to our staff, and it kept our doors open until PPP money came in. I’m forever grateful. It’s no overstatement to say books like Trust Exercise helped save my bookstore.

Now, seven years in, I’m delighted to still be raving about Choi’s writing and handselling her books to whoever will listen. Most recently, that has been her newest novel, Flashlight, which was just long listed for the Booker Prize and the National Book Award. My staff picks shelf will forever hold one of her novels.

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

Somewhere around year three of operating the bookstore I realized I might need to pay myself a living wage in order to keep things up. It’s easy to plow forward when your passion project is as gratifying as bookselling. But alas, it is not sustainable. I was burning out on working long days with little pay.

That’s when I came across Profit First, recommended to me by a fellow bookseller at a conference. The principles are simple and straightforward for managing cash in a small business - and simple is just what I needed at the time. I was juggling tons of projects at the store, and didn’t have the presence of mind to dive into or really “own” my finances. With this book, I was able to refocus on making the bookstore financially stable (and finally stop mindlessly “reinvesting” my paycheck back into the business.)

Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon and A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

Before opening Old Town Books I was a pretty predictable reader. I knew what I liked, and I stuck with it. I love essay collections, moody literary fiction, and inventive memoirs. I like nature writing, and popular histories. I had never ventured into genre fiction as an adult, ever! It’s embarrassing now to admit.

But if there’s one lesson I quickly learned when owning a bookstore, it’s that you need to read widely in order to be able to suggest books to your customers. Enter: romance.

*Proudly repping our romance book club with some cozy merch.*

These two books were my entry into the genre. Over time, I became an avid romance reader, and thanks to some key plays on our team (shout out to Leah) our romance section grew from just a few books on a quarter of a shelf to now taking up a whole quarter of our middle room.

Our Bad Romance Book Club meets monthly, join us!

Dory Fantasmagory by Abby Hanlon

Growing Old Town Books over these last seven years has coincided with me growing my young family. My oldest daughter was 1.5 when we first opened the shop, now she’s 8 years old and a big reader.

*Me and my oldest daughter back in 2018 in the then-tiny kids section.*

As she got older we discovered Dory, a contemporary kids classic. I have fond memories of reading the first in the series aloud to her and laughing together at Dory’s hijinks.

This was the first reading experience where my daughter eagerly awaited the next book in the series. It was such a delight to rush to the bookstore last September to get the sixth Dory book, Can’t Live Without You.

Now, seven years after posing in front of that dinky kids section, it feels like such an amazing milestone to have author Abby Hanlon herself visiting the bookstore!

If you’re also a parent to a 7-10-year-old who loves laugh-out-loud books about mischief and make-believe, make sure you join us on October 4th.

The ABC’s of Alexandria by Ally Kirkpatrick (me!) Illustrated by Mike Reddy

This last book just might be the most exciting - it’s a project nearly two years in the making!

I’m so excited to finally share that we’re at work on publishing our first children's book, The ABC’s of Alexandria.

When we first opened Old Town Books in 2018, we were fortunate to work with illustrator Mike Reddy. Mike translated my little doodle (below) into the now beloved rowhouse artwork that adorns our merch at the bookstore.

It has been such an honor and pleasure to work with Mike over the years. It was a delight to learn he would help me realize a fun new project - a kids book!

We’ve been collaborating over email and zoom class since kicking things off with some Old Town, Alexandria research. I would take photos and make slide decks for Mike, who would translate that into scenes of iconic Old Town bustling with life. The effect is just dazzling. Bright, full of movement and detail, and just so, so fun.

Last year Mike created a printed copy with some final artwork and some in-progress sketches. Here’s a sneak peek at the cover. If it looks dirty, that’s because my own kids are already obsessed with it and make me read it to them all the time, so it has gotten a little beaten up, hah!

And here’s a look inside. I can’t wait to show you what the final art work looks like, it is fabulous!

Ok one last sneak peek - here is a complete scene of the Torpedo Factory, one of my favorite spreads:

Looking back, these seven books tell the story of Old Town Books just as much as they tell my own.

They’ve sparked ideas, sustained me through challenges, and reminded me again and again why stories matter.

As we move into our eighth year, I’m grateful for the books that shaped the path here, and even more excited for the ones still to come.

Thanks for reading!

- Ally