Rhythm & Co. Books, which opened late last year at 101 Elm St. on the Downtown Square in Glen Rose, Tex., "is more than just a bookstore" for owner Janet Mills, the Glen Rose Reporter noted.
"It's kind of like a book itself, with pages and chapters written by family and friends," she said.
Mills had long had the idea of opening a bookstore. After her husband passed away in 2017, she revisited the idea, but planning took time and it wasn't until last winter that she was finally ready.
"I decided for the New Year I was going to do the bookshop thing for real--in a brick-and-mortar space in Glen Rose on the Square," she recalled. "Right about the time the pandemic hit this building became available. After much discussion with all my grown kids and siblings, I decided I just needed to jump in and do it."
Rhythm & Co. opened just after Thanksgiving. "Inside, of course, there are all kinds of books for readers of all ages, but there are also simple reminders of her family. Parts of her mother's Baby Grand Piano hang throughout the store and are now shelves. Also, there is a painting of her granddaughter reading alongside Rhythm--Mills' dog, a female yellow Lab--for whom the store is named," the Glen Rose Reporter wrote.
"I started a reading program at the schools and at the library--letting kids read to the dogs. Rhythm became quite famous around town. At some point I decided that I would really like to have my own bookstore and Rhythm could be the bookstore dog," Mills said. "It was always supposed to be Rhythm's store, but she died in the spring of 2018. Her spirit is here with me though."
She added that in retrospect, the bookstore was meant to be. "I could not have done any of it without the help and support of those family members and dear friends. Especially my daughter, Julie, who has been my right hand, go-to, cheerleader. My little bookstore was built with a lot of sweat and tears and love. And I hope that others feel that."