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Binnacle Books, a new and used bookshop owned by Kate Ryan, Annmarie Nye and Corey Eastwood, has opened at 321 Main St. in Beacon, N.Y. This "isn't the trio's first experience selling books," Philipstown.info reported. "All three met in New York City and have worked in various bookstores. Eastwood, who hails from the Hudson Valley, continues to own other bookstores in New York City [including Book Thug Nation in Williamsburg] and Madrid."
"People are so excited and supportive," said Ryan. "The community is already giving us a lot of love. A lot of people have been coming in and telling us that this town needed a bookstore. It feels really good to have that kind of symbiosis....
"I'm a born-and-bred New Yorker, but we were feeling increasingly alienated and pushed out by gentrification. We were looking for a space to spend time in that was less intense, and had more of a feeling of community and possibility. We like the mix of things that Beacon has. It's very urban, but it feels small. The main street feels like a community, but it's not a homogenous community. It doesn't feel isolated from the areas around it. There's interesting stuff going on here."
The store's inventory is about 20% new books and 80% used, on shelves that "were custom built to be pushed out of the way to accommodate readings, performances and film screenings that will be projected on the storefront window," Philipstown.info noted.
"We're trying to listen to what all members of the community are interested in," Ryan observed, adding: "We're always thinking about what's happened down in the city, where changes have happened. When those changes work, what's making them work? I think it works when people know what they want in their community and make that happen."