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National Geographic
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
How to plan a literary road trip through the Berkshires
Strolling past The Bookstore and Get Lit Wine Bar, an independent bookshop tucked away in the town of Lenox, you may not realise that an unlikely hero stands behind its red brick facade. Matthew Tannenbaum, an eccentric bibliophile with a tumble of grey curls framing a friendly face, was thrust into the spotlight in 2022 with the cinematic release of the documentary Hello, Bookstore. It highlighted his plucky David-versus-Goliath mission to keep the doors of his cherished Berkshires bookshop open, against a backdrop of the pandemic and in an era of online retail. Stepping inside the cult book emporium, I find Matthew, dressed in faded blue jeans and a T-shirt, sitting behind a scuffed wooden desk at the entrance to his shop. He's been found in this exact spot most days for almost 50 years, since coming to the Berkshires on a whim and snapping up the store. Matthew has since turned the space into a thriving hub for literature fans, with regular poetry readings and signings by authors, both homegrown and international. Dotted throughout the store's nooks and crannies are cosy armchairs that invite bookworms to recline and thumb through a classic, perhaps while sipping a glass of wine from the on-site bar. A handwritten sign beside Matthew's desk reads 'bibliographic consultations available today', a tongue-in-cheek nod to the owner's passion for helping customers find their dream novel. 'I wanted to be a writer myself and had some friends already living in the Berkshires, who told me this was a great place to be a creative,' Matthew recalls of his move to Lenox, with bebop jazz tinkling in the background. 'The region has this rich literary heritage. Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick not far from here and Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, spent time here.' He adds, 'There are contemporary writers such as Ana Reyes, author of The House in the Pines, who are affiliated with the area, too.' He points a finger towards shelves stocked with books by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr, poets who also sought inspiration in these mountains. Made up of rural highlands, glistening lakes and undulating fields, the Berkshires has inspired some of America's greatest writers. Situated in western Massachusetts, 130 miles from Boston, the Berkshires region is made up of mountainous highlands, thick forests, shimmering lakes and rolling hills. Encompassing a segment of the fabled Appalachian Trail, this rural idyll has long attracted outdoor adventurers, alongside city-slickers wanting a dose of culture with their country escape. Each summer, the Tanglewood Music Center near Lenox is home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, welcoming around 350,000 visitors to live performances and seminars, while galleries such as the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown keep those with an interest in visuals arts engaged. I'm visiting this pastoral retreat for its book scene, which alongside temples to prose such as The Bookstore and Get Lit Wine Bar, includes the homes of several eminent writers. Two miles from downtown Lenox is the Mount, Edith Wharton's imposing mansion, and now a museum. New York-born Edith became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1921, for The Age of Innocence, a saga later made into a film by the director Martin Scorsese. Fleeing the bright lights of the city to relocate to the Berkshires in her 40s, Edith created an aristocratic hideaway on a 113-acre estate. She soon waxed lyrical about the Mount, writing to novelist and friend Henry James that 'the truth is, I am in love with the place — climate, scenery, life and all'. It's easy to see how living at the 35-room landmark, modelled on a 17th-century European stately home, might get the creative juices flowing. Likely helping things was the abundance of servants tending to the chores, while Edith worked on her 15 novels and 85 short stories and entertained visiting literary greats. Out on the terrace, overlooking a maze of manicured formal gardens, I find Anne Undeland seeking shade from the unrelenting sun under a parasol. The actor and playwright, who lives close by, became a frequent visitor to the Mount while working on a script about the life of Edith Wharton. 'This is a place that's always been hospitable to the arts, particularly for female creatives,' Anne says, as we walk through a library lined with 1,500 musty-smelling leather-bound books and make our way upstairs to Edith's bedroom. Female writers who've also called the Berkshires home include Catharine Sedgwick, a leading figure in early 19th-century literary circles who set her celebrated novel, Hope Leslie, in a Massachusetts Puritan colony, and novelist and short-story writer Patricia Highsmith, author of the 1955 tome The Talented Mr Ripley. Since writing a script about the life of Edith Wharton, actor and playwright Anne Undeland has become a frequent visitor at the Mount. Throughout the 19th century, Concord's Main Street was a meeting point for authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. 'We also have these amazing mansions built during the Gilded Age,' Anne adds, referring to the prosperous era in the late 19th century when America's wealthiest families created increasingly lavish estates. In Lenox, alongside the Mount, these homes include Elm Court and Ventfort Hall Mansion. Although Edith was fond of staging publicity photos of herself scribing away in a formal study, in reality, she actually wrote from a bed strewn with letters and books, an ink pot perilously balanced on one knee and a shaggy dog at her elbow. In the centre of her cornflower-blue room, today is that same bed, draped in a lace throw and surrounded by scrawled pages. 'Edith would throw the sheets of paper on the floor when she was done, for the maids to pick up and reorder. It was a flamboyant gesture, which I think says much about the class differences at play,' Anne observes with a wry smile. New life That evening, I retire to the nearby Life House Berkshires, a former roadside lodge that recently began a new chapter. Transformed into a hip 65-room hotel in the summer of 2022, it also doubles as a contemporary literary salon, regularly hosting writers' retreats. To find out more, I meet the director of cultural programming, Alex Chevalier, in the palm-fringed lobby, where he stands before a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. As well as hosting artists in residence, including writers who stay at the hotel for a period of time and give public talks and workshops, Alex says they also 'do fun things like a writing cocktail hour at the bar. We'll have a special themed drink and a group will congregate to sit down and write together.' He adds that the lobby has become a relaxed spot for local book clubs to meet, too. As I watch a guest pull a paperback from the library in the lobby, settling under a woven blanket to study it beside a flickering firepit, Alex says that it's the leafy surroundings that draw in wordsmiths. 'The Berkshires has a simple, organic beauty that inspires people to be creative,' he reasons. The following morning, I drive a couple of hours eastwards to the town of Concord. In the mid-19th century, the American essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson gathered together Concord's anthology of authors, an inner circle that included Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau. Known as the Transcendentalists, the group would meet in Ralph's front parlour to discuss progressive ideas of social reform, spiritual truth and literary innovation. They are now collectively laid to rest in Author's Ridge in a corner of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, a dappled graveyard where devoted fans come to place pencils at their heroes' crumbling headstones. The Berkshires is home to an abundance of independent bookshops such as Barrow Bookstore in Concord, specialising in the history of Concord and its authors. As an epilogue to my own literary trip, I call in at Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House nearby, an impressive clapboard farmhouse bordered by a colourful cottage garden. A rare example of a house existing in both fiction and reality, Orchard House is where Louisa wrote and set her seminal coming-of-age novel Little Women in 1868. It's now a house museum offering guided tours, with visitor numbers trebling since Greta Gerwig's Academy Award-nominated movie adaptation hit the big screen in 2019. 'We're seeing more multi-generational groups,' assistant director Maria Powers says, leading me up to the perfectly preserved bedroom where Louisa drafted her epic novel, sat at a little table that her father built, looking out at the verdant trees. 'We've also just started renting this room out — it attracts a fascinating array of people, including plenty of poets and authors,' she enthuses, pointing out a replica of Louisa's writing cap, a jaunty Wee Willie Winkie hat finished with a red bobble, slung over the back of her chair. 'Imagine sitting here and looking at the very same view that inspired Louisa May Alcott to write one of the world's best-loved books. Writers still come here to be infused by her creative energy,' Maria says. On my way out, I pass a mother and her teenage daughter pausing for a selfie beside Louisa's writing desk. Perhaps, like me, they've come to travel Massachusetts' literary trail — a storied route that reads like a love letter to American literature. Plan your trip America As You Like It offers a seven-night fly-drive holiday to Massachusetts from £1,415 per person. It includes return flights from London to Boston with British Airways, three nights at the Harborside Inn in Boston, two nights at Concord's Colonial Inn and two nights at the Life House Berkshires in Lenox, plus five days' car hire. For more information, visit This paid content article was created for The Massachusetts Tourism Board. It does not necessarily reflect the views of National Geographic, National Geographic Traveller (UK) or their editorial staffs. To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How to plan a literary road trip through the Berkshires
Strolling past The Bookstore and Get Lit Wine Bar, an independent bookshop tucked away in the town of Lenox, you may not realise that an unlikely hero stands behind its red brick facade. Matthew Tannenbaum, an eccentric bibliophile with a tumble of grey curls framing a friendly face, was thrust into the spotlight in 2022 with the cinematic release of the documentary Hello, Bookstore. It highlighted his plucky David-versus-Goliath mission to keep the doors of his cherished Berkshires bookshop open, against a backdrop of the pandemic and in an era of online retail. Stepping inside the cult book emporium, I find Matthew, dressed in faded blue jeans and a T-shirt, sitting behind a scuffed wooden desk at the entrance to his shop. He's been found in this exact spot most days for almost 50 years, since coming to the Berkshires on a whim and snapping up the store. Matthew has since turned the space into a thriving hub for literature fans, with regular poetry readings and signings by authors, both homegrown and international. Dotted throughout the store's nooks and crannies are cosy armchairs that invite bookworms to recline and thumb through a classic, perhaps while sipping a glass of wine from the on-site bar. A handwritten sign beside Matthew's desk reads 'bibliographic consultations available today', a tongue-in-cheek nod to the owner's passion for helping customers find their dream novel. 'I wanted to be a writer myself and had some friends already living in the Berkshires, who told me this was a great place to be a creative,' Matthew recalls of his move to Lenox, with bebop jazz tinkling in the background. 'The region has this rich literary heritage. Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick not far from here and Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, spent time here.' He adds, 'There are contemporary writers such as Ana Reyes, author of The House in the Pines, who are affiliated with the area, too.' He points a finger towards shelves stocked with books by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr, poets who also sought inspiration in these mountains. Situated in western Massachusetts, 130 miles from Boston, the Berkshires region is made up of mountainous highlands, thick forests, shimmering lakes and rolling hills. Encompassing a segment of the fabled Appalachian Trail, this rural idyll has long attracted outdoor adventurers, alongside city-slickers wanting a dose of culture with their country escape. Each summer, the Tanglewood Music Center near Lenox is home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, welcoming around 350,000 visitors to live performances and seminars, while galleries such as the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown keep those with an interest in visuals arts engaged. I'm visiting this pastoral retreat for its book scene, which alongside temples to prose such as The Bookstore and Get Lit Wine Bar, includes the homes of several eminent writers. Two miles from downtown Lenox is the Mount, Edith Wharton's imposing mansion, and now a museum. New York-born Edith became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1921, for The Age of Innocence, a saga later made into a film by the director Martin Scorsese. Fleeing the bright lights of the city to relocate to the Berkshires in her 40s, Edith created an aristocratic hideaway on a 113-acre estate. She soon waxed lyrical about the Mount, writing to novelist and friend Henry James that 'the truth is, I am in love with the place — climate, scenery, life and all'. It's easy to see how living at the 35-room landmark, modelled on a 17th-century European stately home, might get the creative juices flowing. Likely helping things was the abundance of servants tending to the chores, while Edith worked on her 15 novels and 85 short stories and entertained visiting literary greats. Out on the terrace, overlooking a maze of manicured formal gardens, I find Anne Undeland seeking shade from the unrelenting sun under a parasol. The actor and playwright, who lives close by, became a frequent visitor to the Mount while working on a script about the life of Edith Wharton. 'This is a place that's always been hospitable to the arts, particularly for female creatives,' Anne says, as we walk through a library lined with 1,500 musty-smelling leather-bound books and make our way upstairs to Edith's bedroom. Female writers who've also called the Berkshires home include Catharine Sedgwick, a leading figure in early 19th-century literary circles who set her celebrated novel, Hope Leslie, in a Massachusetts Puritan colony, and novelist and short-story writer Patricia Highsmith, author of the 1955 tome The Talented Mr Ripley. 'We also have these amazing mansions built during the Gilded Age,' Anne adds, referring to the prosperous era in the late 19th century when America's wealthiest families created increasingly lavish estates. In Lenox, alongside the Mount, these homes include Elm Court and Ventfort Hall Mansion. Although Edith was fond of staging publicity photos of herself scribing away in a formal study, in reality, she actually wrote from a bed strewn with letters and books, an ink pot perilously balanced on one knee and a shaggy dog at her elbow. In the centre of her cornflower-blue room, today is that same bed, draped in a lace throw and surrounded by scrawled pages. 'Edith would throw the sheets of paper on the floor when she was done, for the maids to pick up and reorder. It was a flamboyant gesture, which I think says much about the class differences at play,' Anne observes with a wry smile. That evening, I retire to the nearby Life House Berkshires, a former roadside lodge that recently began a new chapter. Transformed into a hip 65-room hotel in the summer of 2022, it also doubles as a contemporary literary salon, regularly hosting writers' retreats. To find out more, I meet the director of cultural programming, Alex Chevalier, in the palm-fringed lobby, where he stands before a floor-to-ceiling bookcase. As well as hosting artists in residence, including writers who stay at the hotel for a period of time and give public talks and workshops, Alex says they also 'do fun things like a writing cocktail hour at the bar. We'll have a special themed drink and a group will congregate to sit down and write together.' He adds that the lobby has become a relaxed spot for local book clubs to meet, too. As I watch a guest pull a paperback from the library in the lobby, settling under a woven blanket to study it beside a flickering firepit, Alex says that it's the leafy surroundings that draw in wordsmiths. 'The Berkshires has a simple, organic beauty that inspires people to be creative,' he reasons. The following morning, I drive a couple of hours eastwards to the town of Concord. In the mid-19th century, the American essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson gathered together Concord's anthology of authors, an inner circle that included Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau. Known as the Transcendentalists, the group would meet in Ralph's front parlour to discuss progressive ideas of social reform, spiritual truth and literary innovation. They are now collectively laid to rest in Author's Ridge in a corner of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, a dappled graveyard where devoted fans come to place pencils at their heroes' crumbling headstones. As an epilogue to my own literary trip, I call in at Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House nearby, an impressive clapboard farmhouse bordered by a colourful cottage garden. A rare example of a house existing in both fiction and reality, Orchard House is where Louisa wrote and set her seminal coming-of-age novel Little Women in 1868. It's now a house museum offering guided tours, with visitor numbers trebling since Greta Gerwig's Academy Award-nominated movie adaptation hit the big screen in 2019. 'We're seeing more multi-generational groups,' assistant director Maria Powers says, leading me up to the perfectly preserved bedroom where Louisa drafted her epic novel, sat at a little table that her father built, looking out at the verdant trees. 'We've also just started renting this room out — it attracts a fascinating array of people, including plenty of poets and authors,' she enthuses, pointing out a replica of Louisa's writing cap, a jaunty Wee Willie Winkie hat finished with a red bobble, slung over the back of her chair. 'Imagine sitting here and looking at the very same view that inspired Louisa May Alcott to write one of the world's best-loved books. Writers still come here to be infused by her creative energy,' Maria says. On my way out, I pass a mother and her teenage daughter pausing for a selfie beside Louisa's writing desk. Perhaps, like me, they've come to travel Massachusetts' literary trail — a storied route that reads like a love letter to American literature. This paid content article was created for The Massachusetts Tourism Board. It does not necessarily reflect the views of National Geographic, National Geographic Traveller (UK) or their editorial subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
New York Times
26-04-2025
- Automotive
- New York Times
In Marin County, There's Trouble in Teslaville
In the parking lots of Mill Valley, Calif., mysterious index cards have surfaced on the windshields of Tesla Model Xs and Model 3s. 'Stop Elon,' they urge in teal script. 'Dump your Tesla.' A few years ago, buying a Tesla in Mill Valley meant that you had money, but were not overly showy. It meant you were a progressive environmentalist who had style. It meant you belonged. Ten miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, tucked into the lush, green hills of Marin County, Mill Valley is an idyllic place to live — for those who are wealthy and liberal. And for years, Teslas were 'the Ferrari for the Patagonia-wearing crowd,' said Nathan Ballard, a political consultant who lives in Mill Valley and owns a black Tesla Model S. But the sleek electric cars have come to mean something else entirely for Mill Valley residents since the presidential election. Activists elsewhere have set fire to Tesla charging stations, scrawled swastikas into Tesla vehicles and sprayed graffiti on dealerships. The battle raging in Mill Valley is something quieter: an internal war within the minds and hearts of Tesla owners, their environmental ethos clashing with their rage toward Elon Musk, Tesla's chief executive. California drivers own far more electric vehicles per capita than residents in any other state. And Marin County has more Teslas than anywhere but Silicon Valley, according to data from the state's energy commission. But Marin County is far more liberal than the Silicon Valley. In last year's presidential election, 81 percent of voters in Marin supported Kamala Harris, compared to just 17 percent for Donald J. Trump. In Mill Valley, a rather unexceptional house can cost $2 million, and life is good for those who can afford it. The Mediterranean climate keeps the weather reliably pleasant. Simple pleasures include surfing at Stinson Beach, mountain biking down the trails of Mount Tamalpais or eating a Happy Hippie arugula salad under the redwoods at The Depot Cafe and Bookstore. Despite its wealth, Mill Valley retains a splash of its tie-dyed roots. Bob Weir, the former guitarist for the Grateful Dead, still co-owns a concert venue here called Sweetwater Music Hall, which features blues sessions and an upcoming Bob Marley tribute. But the country's strife has disturbed the vibe even in blissed-out Mill Valley. The town is full of Tesla owners and Tesla haters — and they are often one and the same person. 'We are the P.C. liberals, you know?' said Vikki Goldman, who resents her Tesla but does not want to pay to break her lease. 'What are we going to do?' Residents haven't been afraid to express strong opinions. Some who despise Mr. Musk regularly protest on the freeway overpass between Mill Valley and the closest Tesla dealership. Seniors for Peace has added Tesla to its list of grievances during the group's Friday protests outside an assisted living center. And lately, those index cards have cropped up, including one on Ms. Goldman's charcoal Tesla Model Y. She found it surprising, considering she had already put a sticker with the word 'Elon' crossed out in red on her car. It was an indication of how she felt and, she figured, a way to inoculate herself from scorn. Plus, she said, it helps her find her Tesla in a sea of other charcoal Teslas in parking lots. Last fall, Ms. Goldman hosted a local event to raise money for Ms. Harris in her backyard. Musicians played to an audience of loyal Democrats, along with several ducks. Ms. Goldman is the author of 'What To Do When You're Dating a Jew,' which includes everything from matzo ball recipes to the meanings of Yiddish terms. She considers Mr. Musk 'a Nazi,' she said, for his support for Germany's far-right party and for his stiff arm salutes during one of Mr. Trump's inaugural parties. (Mr. Musk has disputed his arm gesture was a Nazi salute, calling the accusation 'dirty tricks.') 'We could have just as easily gotten a Hyundai,' Ms. Goldman said. 'I feel like a jerk.' Others share the sentiment. Terry Ross, a retired lawyer, has lived in Mill Valley for 54 years and said he loves that it has retained its character. He bought his red Model 3 in 2022 for about $64,000, but said that he put his car up for sale after he saw Mr. Musk give that salute. Six days later, a used car company hauled it away. He received $28,000. 'Bottom line,' Mr. Ross said, 'I had to get rid of that thing as soon as I could.' Tesla, the White House and Mr. Musk did not respond to requests for comment. Carter Zinn, a Mill Valley-based lawyer, leased his Tesla two years ago and recently thought about driving it to the dealership and setting it on fire because he found Mr. Musk's politics so loathsome. But after thinking more about it, he decided that Mr. Musk had done more good than harm. Mr. Zinn said he admired Tesla's innovation with electric vehicles and battery storage for solar energy. Plus, he said, the cars are just plain fast and fun to drive. 'You can make a legitimate argument that he has done more to save the world than anyone else on the planet right now,' Mr. Zinn said, adding, 'They're a tremendous product, and they're a great value.' John Turnacliff, a Mill Valley resident who heads the Marin County Republican Central Committee, finds it all amusing. Especially the fact that anti-Musk bumper stickers have become the latest local trend. 'I do smile when I see those,' said Mr. Turnacliff, who drives a Mercedes with a Trump bumper sticker. 'They don't want to sell the cars, but they want to make some kind of statement.' The index cards recently caused a public stir when one Tesla owner expressed frustration on social media at receiving one of the shaming notes. He said he had photos of the postcard vigilante that had been taken by his Tesla's camera, but did not post them. Ms. Goldman was likewise stumped by the card on her windshield. Her husband, however, solved the mystery. He spotted a woman carrying a thick handful of notecards: their neighbor and good friend, Debbie Coller. Ms. Coller, 75, quickly confessed to being the index card marauder of Mill Valley. She has lost count of how many she has deposited, but she is on her third Sharpie. 'Teal, purple and now blue,' she noted. Ms. Coller, a Democrat who was once a Green Party member, said she admired Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. She protested the Vietnam War in college and has participated in several demonstrations against Mr. Trump. She retired from the natural foods business and lives with her husband, a guitarist in five local bluegrass bands. She said she was inspired by Sheryl Crow, the famed singer who sold her Tesla and donated the proceeds to NPR. 'I've got to do something, and this is what I can do,' Ms. Coller explained. She is concerned, she said, that Mr. Musk's federal cuts would jeopardize the Social Security checks and Medicare coverage that she and her husband rely upon. Mr. Musk has said he was focused on finding fraud in entitlement programs and called Social Security 'the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,' though Mr. Trump has denied he would cut benefits. On a recent afternoon, Ms. Coller took a stack of her cards to a nearby shopping mall. There, she found plenty of Teslas to target, sometimes parked side by side. She moved sneakily, as if worried about being caught. Ms. Coller, who drives a Prius, said she thinks Tesla owners should sell their cars and donate the funds to charities, abandon them at Tesla dealerships or at least put anti-Musk stickers on their bumpers. But many Tesla owners in Mill Valley are averse to taking a financial hit. Local used car sites show a flood of Teslas for sale in Marin County well below $35,000. The automaker this week said that its profit fell 71 percent in the first three months of the year, and the company referred to the potential impact of 'changing political sentiment' on demand. Heather Barberie, who bought a white Tesla Model X in 2020, said she is currently unemployed as an actor and cannot afford to sell. 'If I had the finances that we could just take our Tesla out to the desert and blow it up and have a little bonfire around it, sure,' she said. 'But we need our car, and we're not able to replace it right now.' Instead, she came up with an interim solution. She unscrewed the 'T' logo from the front, hoping that it made the vehicle a little less conspicuous. She now keeps the metal symbol in her junk drawer.
Boston Globe
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Looking for romance? Check your local bookstore.
Rosen, the former bookselling editor at Publishers Weekly, says romance and bookstores seem to go hand-in-hand lately; some have even gone exclusive. According to a July article in The New York Times, the number of US bookstores dedicated to romance novels has steadily climbed from just two into double digits in the last two years. Local additions include Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'I think during the [COVID-19 pandemic], people just wanted something to make them happy,' Rosen said. Related : Advertisement But now, it's not just the love stories on the shelves stealing the spotlight — IRL romance, happening inside bookstores, is having a moment of its own. In 'Bookstore Romance,' Rosen explores the ways booksellers and the betrothed have come together in unlikely and surprising ways, from one bride's 'Beauty and the Beast' dream come true to a surprise proposal between the Psychology and Self-Help sections. While most pairs share a love for literature, others — on and off the pages of Rosen's book — have sought out booksellers who also align with core values, such as building and rebuilding community. 'People are becoming more socially aware of their place in the world. They want to give back, they want to do something unique, they don't want to go the traditional route anymore,' said Liz Saul, associate director of events at booksellers and literary nonprofit More Than Words. Advertisement Saul said the bookstore wedding movement is the 'new bread and butter' of multi-location, youth-run stores. Their South End location reemerged from the lull of the pandemic as a popular spot for gatherings, hosting more than 20 weddings since 'coming back to life as an event space' in 2023. Many couples who were drawn to the space value the organization's mission of supporting and empowering youth, but for some, 'their first date was in a bookstore, or they have some sort of special connection to [bookstores] to begin with,' Saul explained. For Kaylah Dixon and Nick Hammes, it was both. The couple met as undergrad students living on the North Shore, and began dating during a production of 'Urinetown,' bonding over their love of the arts. In 2020, they postponed their wedding, eventually marrying in 2022 at More Than Words, after Kaylah's job in community theater connected her with the organization. The couple resonated with the nonprofit's youth program and advocacy efforts and the literary element it would bring to their celebration. 'I love looking at a bookshelf and just picking something off of it and getting lost somewhere … and you think, 'I can't wait to share this with the people around me,'' Hammes said. A setup for a potential wedding at More Than Words in Boston's South End. @warrenlanephotography On their big day, the two wanted to encapsulate their love of all kinds of media — film, books, musicals, and plays — and created a display dedicated to the favorites that shaped them through the years. Titles included 'The Color Purple,' 'Twelfth Night,' 'Homegoing,' 'Mamma Mia!,' the 'Avatar' DVDs, and 'Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.' Authors and playwrights the couple admired dictated the seating arrangements. Advertisement For Melissa Fetter, owner, and Serena Hanlin, private events coordinator, of The Beacon Hill Books + Cafe. Beacon Hill Books + Cafe ? Those who want more personalized experiences can pay $250 per hour for exclusive use of the space for the proposal and a photo shoot after the store's regular closing hours, Fetter said. The location itself can also be reserved and rented for wedding celebrations, including rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, and receptions. These private events include staffing (such as a sommelier and servers), table settings, andfloral arrangements, often made by Hanlin herself. A wedding celebration will typically cost around $10,000, according to Fetter. 'The experience of having the whole bookstore as your private space — it feels like you're at someone's family home,' Hanlin said. 'One of my favorite compliments that we get at the dinners is 'It's even more beautiful than I could have imagined.' That's my gold standard, I always want to hear that.' Advertisement In the case of Morgan Brewton-Johnson and Sam Hall, the couple was looking for something 'quintessentially Boston' for their small local wedding. Brewton-Johnson had learned about Beacon Hill Books from one of her graduate school professors, and it became a go-to spot for the couple. Beacon Hill Books + Cafe. Beacon Hill Books + Cafe? For their November wedding, the two spent the morning together — exchanging vows and rings on the couch at home — before taking an Uber to the bookstore to greet their 20-so guests. '[The wedding day] is the way I would have wanted to spend every single day anyway, so it was nice that we got to do that on the day we committed ourselves to each other with our friends and family,' said Brewton-Johnson. Guests were each given a book, handpicked by the couple, as a wedding favor. So, are bookstore weddings the start of a happily ever after? Rosen thinks so. 'To be surrounded by stories, it's kind of a lovely way to begin the story of your life together,' said Rosen. 'Combining the stories, the beauty of the bookstore, I think it's just so nice. I know I'm biased … but the people in bookstores are so lovely.' Judith Rosen will discuss 'Bookstore Romance: Love Speaks Volumes' with author Laura Zigman at , 44 Brattle St., Cambridge, on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. Haley Clough can be reached at
