More than a place to browse the latest titles, Main Street Reads has become a gathering place for the local literary community, offering book clubs for a variety of genres, story times for littles, staff picks, special author events and the ability to order books directly through the store. One of its most popular features is its “mystery date” books, carefully wrapped and paired with clues, ribbons, stickers, pens and other surprises that encourage readers to discover something new. And if you’re visiting the shop, there’s one rule to remember: don’t say the “A” word, the online retail giant known for delivering just about everything, unless you’re prepared to contribute to the store’s swear jar.
Shari Stauch took the time to sit down with us and give us some insight into how she got started, the community she’s built and what makes Main Street Reads a special part of downtown Summerville.
Q: How did you get started in this industry?
Stauch: I’ve been in the publishing industry for 30 years — more than that, probably 40. [I] used to publish a magazine, then I owned a marketing services company for authors. I still do [it’s] called Where Writers Win, and we had magazine offices here. We didn’t need the space for that anymore, so I decided to open a little bookstore the same time that the square renovated. So, we both had our ribbon cutting [on] the same day.
Q: What is your proudest achievement so far?
Stauch: I think our proudest achievement is the community that we’ve built. We have over 10,000 on our mailing list now. We have several different book clubs: a thriller, a fantasy, a romance, a general fiction, a young adults club, a middle grade club, weekly story times for the Littles, a writers group that meets Monday nights, and next month we launch a new nonfiction book club called Reality Bites. It’ll be fun. So yeah, so we’re always doing something. We have author signings. We work with the local community. Have big authors down at the theater producing the annual Summerville Book Festival, which is a big one. So, but it’s all about that that community.
