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OUT THERE. WELL, TOMORROW IS INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY. BOOK LOVERS ARE INVITED TO VISIT AND SUPPORT LOCAL INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES IN THE METRO. IT’S A NEW PROJECT COMMUNITY. ����vlog IS ALYSSA GOMEZ INTRODUCES US TO THE NEWEST SHOP IN TOWN AND THE MISSION BEHIND ITS NAME. OVER IN THE DRAKE NEIGHBORHOOD, THIS BUILDING HAS LIVED MANY LIVES. ONCE A LAW FIRM, A HOT DOG SHOP, AND A FIREHOUSE. WELL, NOW, THE ONLY ALARM THAT SOUNDS IS THE BELL ON THE FRONT DOOR. A SOUND INVITING CUSTOMERS TO IMMERSE THEMSELVES INTO WHOLE NEW WORLDS. I WOULD CONSIDER OURSELVES A GENERAL BOOKSTORE. WITH THAT SAID, WE HAVE A FOCUS AND THE FOCUS IS REPRESENTATION. BIPOC AUTHORS AND REALLY LIFTING UP VOICES FOR FOR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. BUT THERE’S MORE BACKSTORY TO THIS BRICK AND MORTAR. AND ITS OWNER, LUIS. I’VE ALWAYS HAD A GREAT LOVE FOR LITERATURE, AND DURING LIKE MOST SMALL BUSINESSES OR AT LEAST NEWER SMALL BUSINESSES, THE STORY BEGAN WITH THE PANDEMIC. LUIS WOULD LOAD UP HIS CAR WITH BOOKS, SELLING THEM AT FESTIVALS AND POP UPS ALL OVER IOWA. BUT THERE’S JUST NO PLACE LIKE HOME. DES MOINES IS MY HOME. I AM A HOMEOWNER. MY CHILDREN ARE IN SCHOOL HERE, AND I WANTED TO SEE WHAT I CAN DO TO MAKE THE PLACE I CALL HOME A LITTLE BIT BETTER. SO THOSE BOOKS PLANTED ROOTS, CHOOSING EVERY DETAIL WITH THE COMMUNITY IN MIND. FROM THE MUSIC ON THE RECORD, PLAYER. TO THE BOOKS ON THE SHELVES. SOME BOOKS IN SPANISH AND THEN BOOKS IN TRANSLATION FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD, WITH WORKS FROM AUTHORS OF ALL DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS. NELL’S BOOK STAYS TRUE TO ITS NAMESAKE. THE QUESTION I GET A LOT IS WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? YOU KNOW? AND SO OFTENTIMES I HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHAT LIKE, NO, YOU KNOW, IN SPANISH MEANS US OR WE. IN EXPLAINING THE NAME AND EXPLAINING WHY I’M DOING WHAT I’M DOING, YOU KNOW. I SAW PEOPLE’S LIKE, ALMOST LIKE A SPARK OF RECOGNITION AND A LITTLE IN THEIR FACES LIGHT UP BECAUSE THEY SAW THEY UNDERSTOOD THE MISSION FOR MANY OF LUIS’S CUSTOMERS, THOSE BOOKS SERVES AS A BRIDGE FOR CONNECTION. I GET A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO COME IN AND ARE DISCOVERING BOOKS FOR THE FIRST TIME, OR AUTHORS FOR THE FIRST TIME, SO REALLY, THEY’RE RELYING ON ME OFTENTIMES TO TO KIND OF SORT OF GUIDE THEM TO, TO WHAT THEY WANT TO READ. SOMEBODY WHO IS MAYBE HAS A HAS A FAMILY MEMBER, YOU KNOW, A SON OR A DAUGHTER THAT MARRIES SOMEBODY FROM A DIFFERENT CULTURE, OR NOW THEIR GRANDPARENTS TO SOMEBODY TO TO GRANDKIDS WHO ARE BIRACIAL OR BICULTURAL, WHETHER IT’S POETRY OR PROSE. LUIS MAKES SURE THAT THERE’S SOMETHING ON THE SHELVES THAT WILL HELP MAKE THAT CONNECTION. SOMETIMES IT’S JUST FOR THEIR OWN EDIFICATION AND LEARNING. SOMETIMES IT’S JUST TO BE ABLE TO TO TO SHARE TIME AND SPACE WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH THEIR GRANDCHILDREN. AND I THINK THAT’S A BEAUTIFUL THING. IN D