The Nature of Reading Bookshop, a bookstore with a focus on seasonal reads and books about climate change and sustainability, has opened in downtown Madison, N.J., the Madison Eagle reported.
Store owner Hailey Brock held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the bookstore on Earth Day (April 22) that saw visits from Mayor Robert Conley and other town officials. The bookstore carries fiction and nonfiction that merge "the joy and wonder of the natural world with the knowledge and passion to fight for its survival." There are children's books and a rotating selection of seasonal reads, which celebrate the natural world and its cyclical changes.
Prior to opening the bricks-and-mortar store at 22 Main St., the Nature of Reading Bookshop was an online store and pop-up shop, with appearances at places like the Morris Winter Market in Morris Township.
Brock, who grew up in nearby Chatham, N.J., started working at Chatham Bookseller when she was in high school. Following her return to N.J. after studying in the U.K., she managed Chatham Bookseller, which specializes in used and rare books, for about 18 months. Now, the two bookstores are practically across the street from each other. They plan to work together to "attract book-lovers to Madison and to each other's shops."
Brock also launched a crowdfunding campaign to help her open the Nature of Reading, which has so far raised just over $14,000.