Ep. 179: From Corporate America to Indie Bookstore Owner with Gayle Weiswasser (Co-Founder of Wonderland Books) + Book Recommendations
Sarah's Bookshelves Live
Sarah Dickinson
4.9 • 732 Ratings
🗓️ 2 October 2024
⏱️ 74 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In Episode 179, Sarah is joined by Gayle Weiswasser, co-founder of Wonderland Books, an independent bookstore in Bethesda, MD opening in November 2024. Gayle candidly shares her journey from her initial idea to being on the verge of opening the store. This behind-the-scenes episode offers a deep dive into everything from training and book buying to raising capital (including crowdsourcing) and much more! Plus, Gayle wraps up the episode with some great book recommendations (and how many copies of each she’s ordering for the store).
This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
CLICK HERE for the full episode Show Notes on the blog.
Highlights
- Gayle’s nearly 20-year journey in the book world.
- How the first spark for this idea came from listening to a podcast.
- Some of the fears and challenges Gayle is currently facing.
- Bookstore bootcamp and the other ways Gayle prepared to become a bookstore owner.
- All about raising capital: fundraising, crowdsourcing, small business loans, and the perks of working with a partner.
- How Gayle balances her personal reading tastes with the community’s expectations.
- The process of buying books and building the store’s collection.
- Breaking down book margins and why publishers tend to stay quiet about them.
- How Wonderland Books plans to stand out from other local bookstores.
- How this whole process has affected Gayle’s reading this year.
- Did Sarah just discover a new micro-genre?
- Plus, an impromptu request adds a fun twist to the book recommendations segment!
Gayle’s Book Recommendations [53:04]
Two OLD Books She Loves
- The Art Thief by Michael Finkel | Amazon | Bookshop.org [53:15]
- Talking at Night by Claire Daverley | Amazon | Bookshop.org [55:55]
- Other Books Mentioned
- Normal People by Sally Rooney [57:55]
Two NEW Books She Loves
- The Caretaker by Ron Rash | Amazon | Bookshop.org [58:39]
- Green Dot by Madeleine Gray | Amazon
| Bookshop.org [1:01:15]
- Other Books Mentioned
One Book She DIDN’T Love
- Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:04:09]
- Other Books Mentioned
- The Girls from Corona del Mar by Rufi Thorpe [1:04:33]
- The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe [1:04:35]
One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About
- A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler (February 4, 2025) | Amazon | Bookshop.org [1:08:29]
- Other Books Mentioned:
- Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler [1:08:40]
- Beneath the Bonfire by Nickolas Butler [1:09:12]
- Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld (February 25, 2025) [1:09:25]
- You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld [1:09:36]
- Leaving by Roxana Robinson [1:10:12]
- Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf [1:10:49]
Last 5-Star Book Gayle Read
- The Husbands by Holly Gramazio | Amazon
Other Links
- The Bookshop Podcast with Mandy Jackson-Beverly
- The Bookstore Training Group
About Gayle Weiswasser
Blog | Instagram | X | Facebook
Gayle Weiswasser is the co-founder of Wonderland Books, a soon-to-open independent bookstore opening soon in Bethesda, MD. Gayle is also the founder of the blog, Everyday I Write the Book and the co-host of the podcast The Readerly Report. Prior to opening Wonderland Books, Gayle was a lawyer and communications executive. She’s a DC native and now lives in Chevy Chase, MD with her family.
Learn More about Wonderland Books:
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Sarah's Bookshelves Live. |
| 0:12.2 | I'm your host, Sarah Dickinson. |
| 0:14.1 | Join me every other week as we get real and sometimes a bit snarky about books and reading. |
| 0:19.4 | Let's get rolling. |
| 0:26.6 | I know how much y'all love hearing about anything indie bookstore related, so I am thrilled to welcome Gail Weiswasewasser to the show to talk about her experience starting a new indie |
| 0:31.6 | bookstore called Wonderland Books, which is opening in November in Bethesda, Maryland. |
| 0:35.6 | You may also know Gail as the founder of the Every Day I Write the Book blog |
| 0:41.1 | and the co-host of the Readerly Report podcast. |
| 0:44.3 | And she's an active participant in our Patreon community. |
| 0:46.8 | And she's been on this show before way back in the very beginning. |
| 0:51.3 | Prior to starting Wonderland Books, Gail was a lawyer and communications executive. |
| 0:55.4 | She's a DC native and now lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with her family and has twin daughters |
| 0:59.9 | in college and a son in seventh grade. She used to read a lot, but doesn't have time anymore, |
| 1:05.3 | which I think is probably a little known side effect of opening a new bookstore, maybe. |
| 1:14.3 | Yes. Welcome, Gail. Sarah, it's such a thrill to be here. And it's a little surreal because I hear your voice in my ears so much. |
| 1:20.6 | Well, same. I mean, this is my go-to book podcast. I tend to listen to you when I run. So the fact that I'm sitting at my desk |
| 1:30.0 | and having a live interactive conversation with you, it's a massive thrill. And I'm really honored to |
| 1:35.4 | be here. Yours is such a high quality, amazing show. And I'm just so excited to be here. So thank you for |
| 1:40.9 | inviting me to be on. Well, thank you. And I'm so glad to have you. |
| 1:44.6 | It is so refreshing to talk to people on the show who I'm kind of already friends with. |
| 1:50.3 | Yes. |
| 1:51.3 | All right, let's get into the new bookstore. |
... |
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