This trip report is from Crystal Anne! Crystal Anne with An E comes to us from a sunny clime, but prefers to remain a pale indoor cat. She enjoys reading, cross-stitching something nerdy, going to see live music, and playing video games. She works as an autism consultant by day, got a degree in information science for fun, and currently serves on her local library advisory board, which she’s written about for SBTB.
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I’ve always had a yen to visit a real-life romance bookstore. I wanted the whole experience: the books, the merch, and the feeling of being somewhere feminine joy was being celebrated as important and vital. I always figured that I would have to travel at some point.
Then, two years ago?
One opened up, right in my backyard. Well, not RIGHT in my backyard, more like in Panama City, Florida, which is 10 minutes from my house. I read of the grand opening, and roped in my mom and sister, and we went. I remember not being sure what kind of response to expect from the community.
The community apparently was READY for the Bookish Boutique. I remember my sister Amanda looking around wonderingly as she said “The Book Girlies came OUT.”
Photo taken from their Facebook page
Enjoy some opening day pics from my Instagram.
The store is, to start with, seems to be entirely woman-run. They have curated a very feminine aesthetic within the store itself. It is very, very pink, with feminist slogans posted throughout the store, and on much of the merchandise. Since the opening, they have added a wine bar as part of the experience as well.
The new book selection leans heavily on romance, romantasy, and young adult, with a heavy focus on female authors. They did open a small children’s section, to accommodate mothers that might be in there shopping with their children. There are some male authors in there, but they are the minority, and feature more in the Used Books section.
There’s also a very entertaining selection of bookish merchandise. I tend to be particularly partial to their t-shirts (I’m wearing one as I write this, it’s bright pink and says “It’s too non-fictiony outside”). I’ve also gotten some nice stickers for my iPad case.
They host author signings, and will also allow other small businesses to use space within the shop itself. The day I visited, there was a table that offered handmade bespoke Kindle cases (they were very pretty).
I bought this hat:
Bookish Boutique has made a point of offering many events and coordinating with other downtown businesses to give customers experiences that allow them to really experience the atmosphere of a historic downtown district.
Among other things, they have offered romance book club meetings, crafting meetings, poetry readings, and on one particularly entertaining afternoon, a cat rescue event. Just baby kitties running all over the store. My daughter had a good time sitting on their couch snuggling a little orange kitten.
I happened to be in there the day after Sarah J. Maas announced the next two books in the ACOTAR series, and had an animated discussion with the staff member on duty about the possibility of a release party while my husband looked on bemusedly (he’s always found it entertaining when I start discussing books with others, especially when he has no idea what we’re talking about).
In the event that you may be traveling to this area of Florida, I would highly encourage you to check them out. And in the event you’re not, they have an online store. Right now, I believe it to be more important than ever that we support small businesses, especially those that are woman-owned.
We’re living in a time where equality and diversity are dirty words, especially when used by a very particular kind of person. When you find a business that is so focused on fostering an inclusive environment and promoting feminine power, you make a point of giving them your money. Heaven knows they’ve gotten quite a bit of mine.
Thank you for the trip report, Crystal Anne! You can find the Bookish Boutique at 456 Harrison Avenue in Panama City, Florida.
If you’d like to write a trip report about your visit to a romance-focused bookstore, I would LOVE to hear from you.
