Our founder, Roxanne J. Coady,
reflects on what an independent bookstore is.
Dear Reader,
The funny thing about time — it goes slowly and quickly. It’s so easy to become immersed in the day-to-day but if you take a moment to reflect, you’re startled by the cumulative passage of time!
This week is in the “startle” category. RJ Julia Booksellers will be 34 this weekend, I just turned 75, and Edward will be 34 in June. I won’t bore you with what’s rattling in my brain about being 75 except to say that I am grateful to feel energized and excited and engaged. (Instagram obviously knows better since they are feeding me exercises for old ladies, hair thinning shampoos, and fancy wrinkle creams!). Nor will I prattle on about how much I adore my son and his wife, Chandler. But I will, of course, talk about 34 years of the bookstore. The stats are crazy:
- almost 10,000 author events
- more than 6,000,000 books sold
- 130,000 hours of greeting customers and putting the right book in the right hand
- over $2,000,000 donated to schools, cultural, and literacy organizations in our community
- hundreds of glorious, committed staff members who work or have worked at RJ Julia
- plus, throw in a few staff and customer marriages, new babies, and deaths — it’s an ecosystem.
The stats alone do not reflect the texture of our existence. It is the access to any book anyone wants, it’s the respect for every reader, it is the joy of a person finding a book that might change their life or remind them they are not alone in their worries or status — it is about being a refuge, the town green, and a place of civil discourse.
I believe a bookstore reflects our best selves. That is the exhilaration — every single day we are reminded of the kindness of people, their sadness and their joy, and, most importantly, their humanity.
All this is possible because we have staff who are smart and passionate and attentive. Our leadership team (Lori, Andrew, Julie A., Julie G., and Liz) has and continues to thoughtfully steer us in the right direction. And, we have customers and a community who have supported RJ Julia consistently and compassionately. Together, we have created this little miracle.
With a full heart, I am sending all of you my deep appreciation for the honor of being your bookseller and with deep gratitude to the most fabulous booksellers who make it happen.
This has been a hell of a way to spend 34 years. A bookstore is a place of possibility and hope… a spectacular confluence of extraordinary staff, enthusiastic loyal customers, and authors and publishers that have been wildly generous, all creating and sustaining our bookstore — a little miracle sustaining the magic of reading.
That is what a bookstore is and that is why we celebrate every year. Happy 34th birthday RJ Julia Booksellers!
Happy Reading!
Roxanne Coady
Founder