Slant of Light Books, selling new, used, and discounted titles, has opened at 1543 N. Wells St. in the Old Town neighborhood, Chicago, Ill. Block Club Chicago reported that owner Jessica Murach hopes the store will be a place where people can hang out and read, and she plans to host a range of events and pop-ups.
"I think we have all felt this online fatigue," she said. "Whether that means teaching on Zoom or just working from home, I think a lot of us who have been locked into the internet have felt this collective realization as a society where we are really hungry for these spaces outside of work and home. Spaces that can fill our souls."
While the idea of opening a bookstore wasn't a dream for Murach, bookstores have always had a special place in her life. "It was more of this elusive idea than a dream of mine," she recalled. "The feeling of a bookstore has always been with me as something I love. I've always loved going to library book sales; I remember my first used bookstore and midnight release parties at Barnes & Noble. I did all of that and was so happy doing that because a bookstore is like a world within a world."
Slant of Light Books features a wall of fiction and nonfiction, a special Chicago section, as well as kids, science fiction, music, cooking, and other genres. The store has two seating areas.
"My vision for the store is something akin to an educational space," Murach said. "I'd like to conduct workshops, meet with local artists and display their work and tell their stories, have author visits and bring in people from different disciplines to present their work and ideas.... Making that a reality is the next step. I want this to be more than the buying and selling of books. Making it a space where people really feel the spark of curiosity."