Odyssey Bookstore will open at 115 W. Green Street in Ithaca, N.Y., early next year. The Cornell Daily Sun reported that owner Laura Larson "will be fulfilling her dream" by opening an independent bookstore and "believes that the competition between Amazon and large chains has created a demand for the sense of community that is offered by independent bookstores."
An Ithaca High School and Cornell University alumna, Larson recalled her "love for reading and frequenting the plethora of bookstores available in Ithaca during her childhood--because of this, she dreamed of opening a bookstore someday," the Cornell Daily wrote. She anticipates that construction on Odyssey will be completed sometime in early 2020.
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| Odyssey Bookstore in progress | |
"I want a store where I may not have, you know, a million options under every category but everyone can find something that resonates with them," Larson said, adding that she hopes to foster an inclusive space for all readers and create a setting where diverse groups of people can come together and engage in dialogue.
"When I grew up here [Ithaca] was a very bifurcated community," Larson observed. "The sections of Ithaca, as small as it is, often don't talk to each other and don't really interact with each other…. I want it to be that space where your kids are reading books with my kids and I'm joining a book group with someone I wouldn't have met otherwise.... I just think a community is better when it knows how to talk to each other and have conversations."