A Room of One's Own, Madison, Wis., has opened the Reading Room, a new events space at 2713 Atwood Ave., next door to the bookstore. Co-owner Gretchen Treu told the Cap Times that the bookstore rented the space during the summer and began holding events there, but did not announce the addition until late last month.
"We're so excited for the Reading Room to be a community space featuring workshops, readings and book clubs," the store noted in its e-mail newsletter.
The Reading Room, which can hold about as many people as the back room in the store where events were previously held, will eventually become the main venue for the bookstore's readings and talks.
"But it can be a little bit more of a cozy, intimate experience where people aren't trying to shop around the edges of the event like they have had to in the past," Treu said, adding that a second space will also permit the bookshop to host more events organized by community members, like poetry workshops or writing groups.
"That sort of thing has always been really awkward to try to do in the middle of a retail space," she added. Renting out the Reading Room for private events is also a possibility in the future.