You open a red wooden door. Music plays in the background as your eyes meet books shelved from floor to ceiling and nestled between green walls. Sunlight filters through large windows, illuminating a fluffy dog lounging on the floor and elementary schoolers socializing and reading in various corners.
This was my experience the first time I entered Celia Bookshop on Park Avenue in Swarthmore.
“One part of the bookstore I really love are these hanging book lights; they look like open books hanging from the ceiling. It looks like they’re floating in mid-air. It adds a nice touch to the bookstore and makes it seem magical,” junior Cierra Horetsky said.
Horetsky began working at Celia Bookshop while looking for something meaningful to do during the summer that matched her interests.
“It’ll be a great space for [students] to hang out if they want to meet up with friends, find new books that they want to read, or that they have to read for school,” Horetsky said.
Senior Kazi Bhuiya’s first impression of Celia Bookshop was largely positive. He was impressed by its level of professionalism, large selection, and overall attractiveness.
“We’re in this to provide writers an audience of readers. Readers, books that they love. The whole community, a place where they can gather, talk about ideas, share ideas, and feel a sense of connection and belonging, that if we weren’t here, they wouldn’t have,” owner Beth Murray said.
She and author Rachel Pastan collaborated to open Celia Bookshop on October 4. The two friends have been preparing since the summer of 2023.
“Swarthmore didn’t really have a small independent bookstore. I love Swarthmore, so I was thinking that it would be something that could really benefit the community,” Murray said.
Murray envisions Celia Bookshop as a ‘third place’ people gravitate towards after home and work.
“The bookstore fits really well with the downtown’s vibe,” Bhuiya said.
According to Murray, design choices throughout Celia Bookshop appeal to all ages, such as tables and coffee for studying or work, and a kids area equipped with a fully functioning fairytale-inspired door.
“Living near the bookstore will…give me a space to study for finals, or read in general. Oftentimes, I never get around to reading because it’s just too noisy. But being in the store allows me to settle down and read a book,” Horetsky said.
Celia Bookshop has already hosted many community events. They have also connected with the district by hosting the SRS Home and School Association’s parents’ night out, reaching out to district librarians and teachers, and creating middle and high school student advisory groups. Murray plans to continue these connections in the future.
“We’re open for ideas. We’re not going to try to predict what high school students want,” Murray said.
According to Bhuiya, it is important to have a bookstore within walking distance of his community and school.
“Having a bookstore that puts those books out there and makes them available, so people who do wander in — and maybe they’re not even here for a book, maybe they’re here for a scone — they encounter a book and it piques their interest. And you never know where that’s going to go and how that’s going to change that person’s life,” Murray said.
