The Lines Den has opened at 120 Goldsboro St. S in Wilson, N.C., where the Novel Nest previously was located. Although the new bookstore features "a treasure trove of gently used books," owner Lisa Malone "plans to explore new releases in the future. She said she wants to focus on adding sci-fi fantasy novels and LGBTQ books soon," the Wilson Times reported.
Malone took over the shop from former Novel Nest owner Zoe Taylor after overhearing a conversation. "I have been looking for a bookstore for almost a year," Malone said. "I stopped in one day, there were two or three customers and I overheard her (Taylor) speaking with a customer who was asking to work for her. When Zoe said, 'I don't know, honey. I just don't know if I'm going to be here much longer,' like a little dog, my ears just perked up."
Noting that Taylor "didn't really think I was serious," Malone added; "She said you should come back and let's talk around five o'clock.... I came back and spoke with her, and she told me that she's loved it here for three years, but she travels very far for work."
Part of the agreement to acquire the business was that it would remain a bookstore. "She said, 'I have lots of customers who love the bookstore, and this is the only bookstore other than the Christian bookstore up the street,' " Malone recalled. "That was at the end of September. Things got moving very, very fast. I just feel like everything is serendipity."
Malone cited the established customer base as the best thing she inherited from Taylor: "If somebody twirled me up in the air and said, 'Where do you want to land for a bookstore?' I would've never thought right up the road. There are so many people that have reached out and been so helpful to me. Everybody's just been the sweetest. I don't know these people, but everybody has been very welcoming and down to earth. This town is the way the world should be....
"I'm still kind of in shock, really, because it's something I've always dreamed about. I couldn't have imagined a better place to be. I just never really every thought I could do it. Some people want to be the rich CEO of a company. I just wanted to own a bookstore."