Beyond the Book, A Literary Experience, "with a focus on cultivating a literary community," hosted its grand opening recently at 18063 Dixie Highway in downtown Homewood, Ill. The Homewood-Flossmoor Chronicle reported that owner Tenia Davis's longtime dream was to have a bookstore, and the opportunity perfectly presented itself for her.
"I think the world is in kind of a flux, and I think it's so important to have some sort of literacy awareness around books, so they don't go away," she said, adding that there is something special about connecting with a book and getting lost in it.
Davis recalled that she grew up with safe spaces to read and connect with others, and feels those spaces are still needed now: "The aspect of sitting in a room with someone and learning a little about you and why you love this book."
She worked as a corporate executive for the last two decades. Davis is an organizational behavior expert with a Ph.D. in her field, and the author of The Servant Leadership Advantage and The Feedback Blueprint: Unlocking the Power of Constructive Insights. She said she has a passion for learning and always has had a love for books: "I've always wanted to create a space intentionally for my community. I think this would be a great opportunity to do that." Beyond the Book will host workshops, networking events, a podcast room, and other literacy programs to cultivate a community.
"Kids can come and have their book club, teenagers can come and have their space," she noted. "I think the first event I am doing is a murder mystery, and for the teenagers I am going to do a 'Who Done It?' type of thing."
A longtime resident of Homewood, Davis said working with the village has been a great experience. People are coming by to congratulate her on the bookstore, which she began conceiving two years ago before realizing she should do it now: "I said I really want to do this and do it in a way where the community can engulf it and say yeah this is what we need, this is what we want."