Back Home Again - in Indiana…
Although I have spent the majority of my life in New England, I still have deep roots in my homestate of Indiana. I am proud of these roots and am quick to defend the state whenever I sense of whisp of "coastal patronizing” towards my Midwestern Homeland.
Often I will boast of James Dean, Kurt Vonnegut, Larry Bird, David Letterman, John Mellencamp, Levi Coffin, Sutton Foster and a host of other national treasures the Hoosier state raised. It is not lost on me that many of these people, like myself, left the cornfields of Indiana and found other places to live their adult lives!
However, despite its flaws, I am still proud of the state and I’m not the only one. For example, best selling author John Green, provides some amazingly spirited defenses of the Hoosier state to his millions of followers: click here and here!
There is much to boast, yet even I was taken by surprise when in the fall of 2023, I started hearing murmurs on Bookstagram that Indianapolis was experiencing a bookstore renaissance. Multiple independent bookstores were opening and experiencing glimmers of success.
Throughout the years, when I would visit, I had noticed big box bookstores had closed and anything that resembled an independent bookstore could only be found near a college campus.
It wasn’t until a childhood friend echoed these Bookstagram murmerings and shared a few of her favorite stores in Indianapolis with me that I committed to visit a handful on my next visit. Here’s what I discovered:
Dream Palace
So over the Christmas holiday, I visited Dream Palace, which is a used bookshop that includes a coffeeshop. The drinks were exquisite and matched the high-caliber used book selections. Poetry, architecture coffee table books, classics, social commentary, children’s books were thoughtfully curated and the pairing of the coffee with the books was a perfect compliment. And seriously - the pistachio croissant I had is the stuff of legend!
Loudmouth Books
After Dream Palace, I walked a block or two to Loudmouth Books, a young adult bookstore that Indiana native and author, Leah Johnson, founded. The moment I opened the door, I experienced a sense of belonging. The way the store is organized and designed, provides an instant hug to a book lover. Books of all types are proudly displayed and the shelves, speak to a customer – “that question you’ve been pondering… there’s a book for that!”
In an adjacent room is a children’s space designed to be “Camp Loudmouth.” Commercialized bookish toys become supporting characters in adventures created by readers whose scope for the imagination is inspired by the books inhabiting the space. This place is perfection!
After visiting these two bookshops – I was surprised. To discover such gems in a city that previously was an independent bookstore desert was not only encouraging but also inspiring. And the fact that these bookstores have only been opened for less than a year is fascinating! These two stores seemed not only to be surviving but thriving.
On a return visit a month later, I continued my exploration.
IndyReads
Bookstores as social enterprises are gifts to communities, and IndyReads is a place where the treasure chest of literacy is unlocked. It’s a place, where people come to the store and begin the grueling task of obtaining the superpower of reading. The challenge is made easier by a team of fellow travelers who know the opportunities this superpower can provide and the systematic injustices this superpower can fight.
IndyRead’s used bookstore provides revenue for their mission and anyone meandering through the bookshelves gains a greater appreciation for their work in Indianapolis. For anyone reading this blog who lives in Indiana – please visit this bookstore! You can also click here to learn how you can donate your used books to support their mission.
Golden Hour Books
My final visit, on this trip, was to Golden Hour Books and this is where my soul was piqued. Like walking into Loudmouth books, the moment I opened the door, I felt a hug. I began perusing the shelves and discovered Legacy by Uche Blackstock, MD, which I had recently read, and a few shelves away was Brittney Spears memoir, Piece of Me, which I also had read when it came out.
I had found a diamond in a rough - Such a contrast of books! These books were together - on the same bookshelf!
This bookshelf declared that this is a place that welcomed every type of reader.
This is a bookstore that said “I have a book for any interest and any interest matters because it matters to you.”
This is a bookstore that welcomed curiosities.
I was able to keep my emotions in check as I chatted with the owner - who I learned is originally from Portland, Maine. However, rather than talking about our shared New England bond – she shared her pride for the bookstores in Indianapolis.
She shared about creative writing professors at Indiana University and Butler University who were providing support to her store.
She shread how John Green and Leah Johnson were encouraging celebrity authors to include Indiana bookstores on their book tours along with bookstore “icons” such as Parnassus, Powells, Harvard Bookstore, Strand, etc.
She shared how books were making a city that she has grown to love all the more beautiful.
After my visit to Golden Hour books, I got in my car and found myself emotional. Something deep within me stirred. How did a bookstore bring me to tears?
As I was driving home, I passed a neighborhood that I used to frequent during college breaks. In the early 2000’s, there was a coffee shop called The Abbey. It was a dingy, run down and leaky version of Central Perk.
It had pink chairs with worn velvet, there was poor lighting, creaky floors and buckets to capture drips from the above pipes.
But the coffee was good and the crowd was diverse. I saw people wearing all types of clothing, eating all types of food (vegetarian!), and reading all types of books.
The summer after I graduated from high school was when I first opened The Abbey’s doors, and instantly this coffee shop gave me a hug. I knew I found a place where my questions were allowed. A space that allowed me to sit, read, drink coffee, and think. To be quiet. To wonder.
This coffee shop was where I realized I didn’t want to be an education major, where I plotted my move to Washington, DC, and where I studied for the LSAT (which now makes me laugh!).
Every once in awhile I would bring a friend to this space. I would share a dream and it was treated as sacred.
Years ago, when I discovered that this location of The Abbey closed, I remember wondering - “where would ‘college-Mindelynns’ go?” Where were the safe spaces to question, ponder, and dream?
A space where diversity thrived. Where a cup of coffee didn’t taste as good without a book, where a product was a supporting character, where adventures were unlocked by words, and when a door opened a metaphorical hug was provided.
Taking the time to visit these bookstores reminded me of the time I spent at The Abbey and how a space provided an opportunity for me to learn more about myself, the world and how I should engage with my communities. I’m sure there has always been spaces like these throughout Indianapolis and I just didn’t know about them.
However, now – thanks to the vision of people like John Green, Leah Johnson, creative writing professors and daring entrepreneurs – these places are so easy to find! And I want to lend my voice to the growing chorus singing their praises.
So now, when I have an opportunity to share my love of the Hoosier state, at the top of the list is - AMAZING bookstores!
Some vintage photos of The Abbey:
