Bookmamas featured in Metromix Indianapolis

An article by ICC    1 Comment

Grassroots Indy: Beer, barns, bats, biking — and books.

via Metromix:

Kathleen Madinger Angelone’s store, Bookmamas — located in the historic Masonic Lodge in Irvington — brings together many of the things she loves most.

“Reading, Indiana history, old books and old buildings,” she said as she stood in the store at 9 Johnson Ave. that’s filled with 35,000 new and used books. “It’s all here: the wood floors and smell of the old books. It’s just wonderful.”

Angelone bought Bookmamas in 2007. Since then, she and her cousin, Carolyn Everett — the store’s other bookseller — have worked to make the place about community, too.

“Our vision is for it to be a cultural center for Irvington,” Angelone said. “I’d like this to be the 2000s version of the salons from the 1700s and 1800s where people come together to celebrate and share culture.”

Bookmamas does this with book signings by local authors, regular meetings by reading groups and special events in the basement theater called Underground Nine Studio. On March 5, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library will use the space for a fundraiser, during which Vonnegut fans will read “Breakfast of Champions” aloud from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Food will be supplied by Roll with It Bakery and Jockamo Pizza.

Another unique aspect of Bookmamas is its specialization in Hoosier-related authors and books, as well as gift items.

“We have books about Indiana bats, about biking in Indiana, about famous Hoosiers, about our barns, about Indiana Big Cat rescues,” Angelone said. “We have two books on Indiana beer. We have Indiana crossword puzzles. We have a book about an encounter with a flying saucer here in Irvington.”

While Angelone is bucking national trends by keeping her traditional bookstore alive in a time of so much new technology, she’s also beginning to connect with new trends in Indianapolis.

“What we’re doing fits right into the trend of localism. You see a lot of people shopping at places like farmers markets, trying to support local people,” said Angelone, who frequently sets up at markets. “We’re also connected with environmentalism by recycling books and giving them another new home.”

Learn more at www.bookmamas.com.