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Lif Books, a 600-square-foot bookstore with new and used titles, will open this month in Bedford, Mass., the Bedford Citizen reported.
Pronounced "leaf," Lif Books will reside at 18 North Road, in the Bedford Cultural District, and focus primarily on fiction for children and adults, with a small selection of nonfiction. The majority of the inventory will be new titles. Lif Books will also offer coffee and tea, as well as an assortment of gifts.
Owner Valerie Marie Arvidson, an author, artist, and creative writing teacher, plans to host open mics, writing workshops, and other community events at the bookstore. In warmer months, Arvidson would like to make use of the garden outside the bookstore's building, and she hopes to form partnerships with other local businesses and creative outlets.
"It's really a passion project for me to curate books, and some gifts as well that are related to things that I find fascinating," Arvidson told the Citizen. "But most important, I want to find out what people in Bedford and surrounding communities want to read--getting to know my customers, refining and improving the experience based on talking to people and seeing what they're purchasing."
Arvidson has lived in Bedford since 2020, and she described opening a bookstore as a long-held dream. She and her husband eventually decided that now was the right time to take the plunge, and per the Citizen, Lif Books will be Bedford's first bookstore since 2000.
"I want to create a space where people feel happy and comfortable," added Arvidson. "This takes time. We start small and we build."