Why Choose, a romance-focused bookstore emphasizing underrepresented voices and stories, debuted late last year in Tucson, Ariz., the Arizona Daily Star reported.
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| Jessica Pryde | |
The bookstore sells new and used romance titles and pops up periodically at 4th & 4th, at 402 E. 4th St. The inventory consists of around 600 titles, and there are books from self-published as well as traditionally published authors.
Owner Jessica Pryde is a librarian and lifelong romance reader who has written extensively on the genre and published a collection of essays called Black Loves Matter. She also runs the romance-genre program at the Tucson Festival of Books.
"I have wanted to run a romance-centric bookstore since I read about Ripped Bodice opening in L.A. 10 years ago," Pryde told the Daily Star. "I even called them to see if they might be interested in franchising. They weren't, but I never stopped wondering if there might be a way to do something like that here in Tucson."
Pryde was able to open a store of her own in December. Since then she's held a variety of pop-ups with different themes, including a Black Joy pop-up that featured romance written by Black authors. Her next pop-up is scheduled for March 29, Major League Baseball's opening day, and will focus on sports romance.