Introducing The Reading Chamber
Welcome to The Reading Chamber’s blog! Now that the website has officially launched, it’s time for the blog to as well! Though you can read a bit about me (and Chandler) on the About page of the website, I wanted to go more in-depth about the bookstore’s background here.
My name is Jess Taylor. I grew up outside of Philadelphia, though I now live in Virginia with my husband and Chandler, our mini Bernedoodle. I have loved books since I was a baby. In fact, my first word was duck! It happened while my mom was reading me a farm book and ever since, I’ve absorbed books and stories like a sponge.
I started reading young adult books when I was around twelve and fell in love with authors like Sarah Dessen, Ally Carter, and Meg Cabot. I adored how this age category could be lighthearted and funny, or more serious and feature real life scenarios. I have strong memories of my dad taking me to Barnes & Noble where I would sit on the floor deciding which three books I could take home with me to last me about a week. At that rate, I was going through the YA section pretty quickly. Amazon wasn’t a thing quite yet (I’m dating myself here), and any independent bookstore I visited had limited selections with just the most popular YA books I already read.
When I was in eighth grade, my parents took me to a bookstore in New York City. They were having a large author signing event and there were several authors I read in attendance. I remember it was this cute little store with a good selection of books, but it also had a cafe attached to it that sold sandwiches, cookies, coffee, and cupcakes. After I had many of my books signed and we were heading home, I thought to myself that I’d love to have a bookstore like that one day, but with one twist: it would be just YA titles.
I had that dream in the back of my head as I started high school and found a love for publishing during a creative writing class. I pursued both creative writing and publishing at University of North Carolina Wilmington with a plan to get into the publishing business. But I didn’t forget about that bookstore. I took an entrepreneurship class in college with the idea that maybe one day I’d open my own bookstore. I considered doing a minor in business because of it…but that required too many math classes.
After college, I ended up working in the acquisitions department of a hybrid publisher outside of Washington D.C. I stayed there six years, eventually becoming an Acquisitions Director. During that time, I got to achieve my dream of helping authors publish their books. I had books pitched to me and helped decide which ones we would publish. But I still didn’t forget that bookstore dream.
Eventually it came time to reconsider my current role. While I loved helping independently published authors find a home and an audience for their books, I knew I was ready for something different. It was time to make my bookstore dream a reality.
Choosing to do an online bookstore instead of a physical one was easy since my husband and I aren’t sure if we’re going to stay in the Virginia area or not. I didn’t want to open a storefront only to close it a year later if we wanted to move. An online store also gave me access to a wider audience than just locals and tourists.
The Reading Chamber is solely focused on young adult books and as I developed a passion for independently published books while working in publishing, I highlight a lot of those books in the store. I’m also passionate about women empowerment and small businesses, so all the bookstore merchandise like the bookmarks and stickers come from women-owned businesses. I’ve been helping readers find their next favorite book for years now and I cannot believe that I get to do this from my own store!
Please check out the curated book selections, book boxes, and more and I am always here if you need any reading suggestions!
Thank you for helping me achieve my bookstore dreams.
Jess
