Bookspace is moving to CPCA, Vol. 1
Posted by Charlie Pugsley on
I’m working hard alongside the CPCA folks to open the new Bookspace this fall.* Now that we’re eleven years in and making our biggest move yet, I feel an urge to write a bit about where we’ve been and where we want to be.
Image: me using a hammer drill for the first time to help install tracks for a huge bookshelf we're working on
In my young adulthood I saw tons of bands play DIY house shows put on by regular people like me; I met lifelong friends and had some truly transformative experiences. These shows shaped my feelings about the possibilities of community, art-making, sharing, and the enjoyment of life in general. They left me with a strong impression that if I wanted to do something, I could just do it—usually with the help of a friend or two. My first experience with bookselling was making zines and selling them (or more often giving them away) at punk shows.
After years of devouring books and wanting to share them with people, when I was 28 I had the idea to start my own bookstore. I had noticed that whenever I visited other cities, I found myself wanting to see their bookstores, the weirder and more left-leaning, the better. Back then there were only a handful of bookstores in Columbus, so there was a real need, and I thought I could be good at it—like if I ever had a “calling,” it was bookselling.
Thankfully I turned out to be right—I am good at it, and it’s the best use of my energy in our current context. Kind people have told me over the years how reading a particular book they bought from me changed their outlook or altered the trajectory of their life in some positive way. And every time I think about how it’s all been worth it. This is why I do what I do.
But I am not a shrewd businessman. I do not like money, and would rather have nothing to do with it. Running a business was never my dream. I don’t like capitalism. I don’t like selling things. I wish I could just give all the books away or be a kind of community librarian in some other, differently structured system. But we don’t choose our context; we can only live within it and alter it to the extent that we can.
All I’ve ever wanted to do as a bookseller is to make possible even the tiniest bit of what I have felt in reading some of the more transformative books in my life. To convince people and share in knowing that we can do so much when we practice reading books and gaining their knowledge, wisdom, and range of emotional experiences. I’ve already fulfilled that goal many times over, and I want to continue doing so for as long as possible, as effectively as possible.
Bookspace has seen so many different iterations, depending on what was possible given my life circumstances and, frankly, others’ willingness to partner with me and try something new. I’ve never had any start-up capital and I’m wary of debt. I’ve sold books in ways that feel sustainable in whatever place, for whatever time I could, with the help of many different folks. I’ve never wanted to compromise those DIY values that felt so fundamental to what I was trying to do, which is why Bookspace has always been pretty small. As you may know, bookselling is not a lucrative business,** so I’ve worked other part-time jobs for the majority of the time since I started Bookspace in 2015. I recently quit my job at the library to focus on Bookspace full-time.*** I learned a lot working at the library that has made me a better bookseller, and I feel grateful and excited to finally be able to give it my focus.
Image: that time in 2016 when I made a bookstore in a shared workspace in German Village
There’s a song that I’ve been listening to and thinking about a lot: “Ghost Ship” by ADD/C. Some of the lyrics are:
We're always fighting for a place for us
This whole world is getting swallowed up
So we hide out in basements and warehouses
Places we carve out and hold onto
Not everybody wants to join in the game
Selling smiles and trash and chasing fame
Some of us don't want to be sold or to sell
Some of us just want to mold and to meld
Some of us just want to be and be well
Some of us just want to hold and be held
Image: that time in 2017 I made my basement into a bookstore
I just very much agree. I love any instance of someone turning something that’s not being used into something that can change things for people in a positive way. I was thinking about the line about basements and warehouses because I once made my actual basement into Bookspace, and the forthcoming iteration is in a former factory/warehouse. There was also my front yard, a community art space, a shared workspace, a dance studio, and hundreds of outdoor markets.
For as long as I can, I want to be the people’s bookseller, your bookseller. To provide a place to go if you want a new perspective on things, or to go deeper into something you’re already thinking about. I want to cultivate connection, joy, and belonging with the bookstore I run. I want people to feel free to explore ideas, to be inspired and humbled and made curious by the books they feel drawn to. I get kind of emotional; browsing a bookstore or library is such a special experience, and I feel so lucky to be able to create one for folks to find some books they will love reading. It’s a complete honor.
Until next time,
Charlie
Currently reading (and loving):
In Defense of Looting: A Riotous History of Uncivil Action by Vicky Osterweil
*CPCA is an arts nonprofit: the Center for Print and Collaborative Arts. We are partnering to bring you the best Bookspace has ever been. Learn more here (and donate to our cause if you’d like)!
**Unless you’re Jeff Bezos and your aim is to ultimately destroy the book industry.
***Shout out to my CML worker friends, I love you forever.