That's when she remembered her husband's 1962 Volkswagon Transporter. As Rachel Kramer Bussel reports in a recent Forbes article, instead of renting a brick and mortar location,Moore decided to invest $5,000 in vehicle repairs and refurbishment, books, other merchandise, and licenses - and The Book Bus was born.
From the Forbes article:
While the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that Moore can’t sell books at public events for the time being, she’s pivoted her business, selling books online via Bookshop and audiobooks via Libro.fm, hosting a book club on Zoom she began in January, and renting out the bus for photo shoots and birthday parties. When she does bring books to sell at parties, she practices social distancing and uses contactless methods of payment, though 95% of her sales are happening online.
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Using her business’s sales to fuel children’s literacy is part of Moore’s mission. “I have a passion for getting books into the hands of kids who need them most. I take all my profits and buy new children’s books for schools and organizations to help build their libraries. Every child should be given the opportunity to experience the joy of reading for themselves,” she said.
I think this is wonderful. What a joyous thing to do. I read a book about a woman who had a floating bookshop aboard a barge and took it around the canals of England stopping here and there for a couple of days etc. Sounded absolutely idyllic to me.
ReplyDeleteWow, Cath, those canal boats may not be even as wide as this Volkswagon. But what a great concept...do you remember the name of that one? This brings back a memory I haven't thought of in years. One winter while walking along an Uxbridge canal near my office, I had to free up a duck who had let herself be frozen in place from the feet down. It only took a heavy enough rock to do the job, but it was a solid freeze.
DeleteYes, the book was called The Bookshop that Floated Away by Sarah Henshaw. I was quite mean on Goodreads and only gave it a two. I got rather bored by descriptions of her drinking bouts and felt the book could have been a lot better given the wonderful thing she did and the places she went.
DeleteThat poor duck! That must've been an unusually cold winter for us.
I'll look for that title here - but I kind of doubt that I'll find it.
DeleteThat was probably the winter of 1996-1997, if I recall correctly. It was a pretty solid freeze but one that didn't last too long.
Her book bus is so cute. I love it! :D
ReplyDeleteThat's a vehicle I don't remember ever seeing back in the day.
DeleteWhat a great way to retire, be active, and stay in touch with books and people!
ReplyDeleteShe seems to be very happy - and flexible. The virus could have ended it for her, but she seems to be just about as busy as before.
DeleteThis is so cool! I would LOVE to do this one day :)
ReplyDeleteThis seems to be a relatively popular idea in these days of high rents and high overheads. It will probably never make her rich, but I don't think that's why she does it. The lady really seems to love books and book readers.
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