May 17th will mark the 25th anniversary of this little bookstore-that-could. A quarter of a century. It’s remarkable. A bookstore housed in a less-than 400-square foot space, where nothing digital has ever seen the light of day (okay, maybe a clock or two,) where no poorly-written book has been given shelf-space, is about to be 25 years old!
How have we been able to stick around this long?
Dennice Rousey is to blame.
Dennice and the hundreds of people like her throughout the years. You see, Dennice lives in San Diego. But we, about 130 miles away, are her bookstore. When she visits her nephew she’s also visiting us. She comes in, stocks up on months’ worth of books and leaves. When she saw our Staff Picks section a couple of weeks ago she was quite miffed that we hadn’t thought to put them on our blog– for her, since she can’t come in every week. I find this relationship absolutely awe-inspiring. That, in this day and age, it’s still possible and can still be nurtured, is really something.
Yes, we have great books. Yes, we have knowledgeable and passionate staff. Yes, all the gifts that surround our books are unique and pretty cool, too. But none of it would mean anything if it weren’t for the Dennices of the world, who recognize the beauty of it, who seize it and do whatever they have to (travel as many miles as they have to) to support it.
[Ed. In the original version of this post we called Dennice Rousey, Mary Day Dewart. We’re red-cheeked about it.]
The Other Day at Portrait... 
Oh thank you so much, Dennice!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to see you next time…. xxx Lilly
I love Dennice! Thank you for honoring her dedication and support to books and reading and those who make that happen!