Trailside Books, featuring "shelves built around adventure, children's books, and local history," will host a grand opening celebration during the weekend of November 14-15 at 136 Aptos Village Way, Suite 100, in Aptos, Calif., Lookout Santa Cruz reported.
Owner Marissa Swett, a retired high school teacher, said she had been considering the idea of opening a bookshop long before finally taking the leap: "I'm 47, I have enough time for another career. When I told my sister, she said I had been talking about [owning a bookstore] since I worked at a bookstore in high school."
When she told her students her plans for a post-teaching career, "they were excited and eager to tell her about the books they were reading," Lookout noted, adding that "one thing that struck her was that many of the boys told her they used to read all the time when they were younger, but struggled to find books that held their interest once they aged out of series like Diary of a Wimpy Kid."
Helping to change that trend is part of what Swett hopes to accomplish with her new venture. While offering a range of titles, Trailside will focus largely on books with what she calls "an adventurous spirit," reflecting her interests as an avid backpacker and trail runner. The selection will also include children's literature, cookbooks, and local history, among other subjects.
Swett is working to transform the Aptos Village retail space into her vision in time for the opening, with a bigger celebration planned for January. She is documenting the journey on Substack.