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| Amanda Friss | |
Bookseller Amanda Friss has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help her open Parentheses Books, a general-interest independent bookstore coming to Harrisonburg, Va., next year. Friss is looking to raise $50,000 and with 27 days to go has so far brought in more than $5,500.
The bookstore will span 880 square feet in the Liberty Street Mercantile, a new indoor market that will open next year. In addition to the bookstore, the Mercantile will have a flower shop, a wine bar, a common seating area, an events space and other assorted retail. The Mercantile building is still being renovated, and Friss described the future space as "cozy and welcoming," featuring "warm wood floors and rugs and plants."
The bookstore will carry fiction and nonfiction for children and adults as well as cookbooks, poetry and sidelines. Friss will host author readings and signings, book clubs and a variety of children's events. She noted that despite the bookstore's relatively small footprint, she'll be able to host sizable events and "spread out" thanks to the Mercantile's large event space on the second floor and common area on the main floor.
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| Parenthesis Books' future home | |
Friss said she's excited about the chance to work with and support local authors, and she pointed out that there are more authors in the Shenandoah Valley than people might expect, partly because of James Madison University. She added that her husband, Evan Friss, is one such author, and has a title forthcoming from Viking that is a history of bookstores in the U.S.
Prior to moving to Harrisonburg about a decade ago, Friss lived in New York City and was a bookseller at Three Lives and Company. Working there, Friss wrote, "taught me that bookstores are more than just stores that sell books. They are vital to our communities because they help foster relationships. They serve as safe spaces in which people can connect."
Elaborating on the store's name, Friss explained that they're the "literary equivalent of a hug," and "often it's the best stuff that's in parentheses."