HUMBOLDT — As eager as Sarah Hart is to see that her new bookstore is a success, she’s just as intent that it’s done her way.
Hart’s soft-spoken manner somewhat belies the intensity she feels for the books and merchandise she’s selected for Bridge Street Books.
T-shirts and bags are emblazoned with the slogan, “Banned Book? Read twice.”
Among the standard fare of bestsellers, classics and children’s books are sections dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, feminism, Black history, and what some would term a “liberal agenda.”
In the store window hangs a rainbow-colored flag.
From the outset, “I want people to know who I am,” Hart said. “I’m a pretty direct person. I think that’s the best way to operate.”
Hart sees her bookstore as “a small resistance” in today’s political climate, especially in Southeast Kansas.
“I feel like we’re put in a box in rural America. But we’re not all alike. I want people to be able to find something here that speaks to them no matter who they are.”
I want people to feel they’re in a safe place where they can explore.”
Books, said Hart, open people’s minds.
THIS IS Hart’s first venture into retail. Her love of reading “all kinds of books” inspired her to open a bookstore. Hart noted self-help books, nonfiction and fiction, romance “and even kids’ books, sometimes,” have helped launch her interest in biographies and other areas.
Illustrative of her generation, Hart, age 42, said she learns of new authors not so much from traditional literary journals but more from booksellers and groups that post on TikTok and Facebook, as well as suggestions from those who drop in the store.
“I love learning what people want to read,” she said, noting that will help dictate the store’s collection.
“It will be a natural growth,” she said.
Hart is especially looking forward to her book club gatherings. Wednesday evening’s session filled up so fast that she’s also scheduled one for Thursday evenings.
IN OPENING the store, she is transitioning from her position as general manager of the Honeybee Bruncherie, where she’s been since it opened three years ago.
