Fort Riley, Kan., resident Kaitlynn Steen "is writing a new chapter for herself by starting a mobile bookstore," the Manhattan Mercury reported, adding that her business model for Backyard Bookshelf is "not just books; it's things that make me laugh and bring me joy."
Steen noted that the process "started with my love of kids' books. I think nowadays they make really beautiful children's books. And my kids are nine and seven, and now there's also a huge trend with adult books being very decorative and very beautiful. And as an adult, I wanted to start reading again, and I wanted to kind of own something as a military spouse, which is hard to do when you're moving every two years. So this became a mobile thing that I could own and take with me."
She added that it has been fun to meet all the people who come out to see her mobile bookstore: "I'm a seasoned pro now. I've done it three whole times on base. We've gone to Abilene. Abilene just lost their little hometown bookstore. And we've gone to Topeka."
Part of the appeal for customers is exploring the trailer, which is lined with books and other merchandise, highlighted by a "Bring books back" sign.
"Everybody's really excited about how cute the trailer is, which makes me very happy," Steen noted, "but they're also excited because this brings books back into small communities that might have lost their brick-and-mortar bookstore, and it's more affordable to have a trailer than to pay your rent every month at an old brick-and-mortar bookstore that doesn't have a big town associated with it."