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A Detroit business founder has faith that there's a place for a small bookstore, even in an era of digital readers and online shopping. Now Susan Murphy shares what she calls "happy news."
The pop-up in a cozy part of a Grand River coffee shop is open Tuesday through Saturday. (Facebook photo)
A pop-up version of her Pages Bookshop "will be open within Always Brewing Detroit for the next few weeks," Murphy posts on Facebook. The coffeeshop is at 19180 Grand River near Outer Drive in the Grandmont-North Rosedale area.
Her sun-splashed display area with hard-cover and paperback literature, historical novels and other books (mainly fiction) is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon. "We may be open later on Tuesdays and Thursdays, depending on what is scheduled at the coffee shop," she says.
Murphy created Pages in August 2013 after 30 years in the information technology, automotive and education fields. She also teaches business and computer courses at Schoolcraft College in Livonia.
With support from Revolve Detroit, a program of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, she opened on Livernois Avenue, but couldn't secure a long-term space.
Murphy spoke last week with Carried Away Detroit blogger Carrie Budzinski, who posts:
Murphy's experience locating a storefront has been a challenge but she remains optimistic that Pages on Livernois will find a permanent home this year. . . .
"I am looking here on Grand River in the Grandmont Rosedale area. I have a couple contacts left on Livernois that might turn into something. . . . I wanted to be in the northwest part of Detroit because this area doesn't get the literary events that go to Midtown or downtown, or even now West Village or Hamtramack. I think it's space. I think there needs to be space for these events."
The entrepreneur with two master's degrees has a vision of "more than just selling books," she tells Budzinski. She plans a shop that "provides a place for people to get together and talk about issues that are in books or storylines behind books. I think there's a real trend towards small business and community-supported small business."
Susan Murphy: "I want to share my passion for reading as a way to connect, both to stories and to each other."
On a "My Story" page at her store's site, Murphy talks about the deep passion behind her business plan. "Books made a difference in my life," she says in a delightful essay so heartwarming we share it all:
I often get asked why I want to open a bookstore. It’s a good question, given the availability of online retailers.
I can answer with the generic, “I love books,” or, “I want to make a difference in a Detroit neighborhood,” which I do. But there are many opportunities in the city to promote reading and to make a difference, so why a bookstore?
Books made a difference in my life. I didn’t grow up in a reading house, so there weren’t books on shelves or tables or anywhere else. My mom took me to the library, but I don’t remember the trip so it must not have made an impression. Plus, those were the “Quiet!” days in the library; maybe I got scolded.
The stories in books became real to me in high school with the required reading of the classics like The Scarlet Letter and The Grapes of Wrath. I complained with the rest of the kids that they were boring, but secretly I liked them, and I started reading on my own. Little Women, 1984, and The Secret Garden were some of my favorites. I moved on to more contemporary fiction through college and into the working world.
In graduate school, I seemed to have more time to read and I re-read many classics, especially books by Emily Bronte and Jane Austin. There have been times in my life when I didn’t have the time or energy to read, like all those baby years. I turned to nonfiction for practical advice and easy-to-read fiction. I read Oprah Book Club books until they got too depressing for a light read (House of Sand and Fog threw me over the edge.)
My point is that reading continued to provide entertainment, advice and a new look at the world. Historical fiction, which may be my favorite genre, presented the past in a readable form and helped me understand cultural traditions and differences. Reading to my children was an experience that is hard to describe – discovery, laughs and warm little bodies next to me.
These are the experiences that brought me to where I am today. So why a bookstore? I want to share my passion for reading as a way to connect, both to stories and to each other. Even though reading seems to be a solitary activity, it can lead to great conversations between people.
My bookstore will provide a gathering space to share the stories within books.
