Local Bookstores in Search of Love this Holiday Season

With the holidays quickly approaching, online retailers are beginning to sell items at extreme discounts or offering free shipping on orders of $75 or more. But in the holiday rush, let’s not forget about the locally owned shops in Mount Pleasant.

One such local shop is the Book Shelf. The shop opened in May 2010 and is owned and run by Kristen Moutsatson. Moutsatson had worked at another bookstore on Mission by Cold Stone Creamery, but it had closed its doors. So she opened the Book Shelf on her own and runs the business with the help of her father and a few friends.

The Book Shelf is home to a wide variety of books from children’s to young adults to biographies. There is also a used books section for anyone looking for some unique books. If the Book Shelf does not currently have what a patron is looking for, Moutsatson will special order the book for the patron. Shipping is free (unlike retail stores this season), orders usually arrive at the store within three days and patrons only have to pay for the price of the book.

The Book Shelf also sells literary t-shirts as well as special Michigan shirts. You can purchase a “Great Gatsby” shirt, or even a “To Kill a Mockingbird” shirt. Or, if you’re feeling some Michigan pride, you can pick up a shirt with the mitten on it.

Another perk to shopping at the Book Shelf are the cats. You heard me right. Cats. Moutsatson fosters cats from the Isabella County Animal Shelter and they live in the shop. Sometimes she’ll only have one cat, but they often come in pairs. The cats are great to cuddle as you walk around the shop and offer some comfort and stress relief for the stressed college student.

So instead of ordering your books online or through a huge retailer, give some local bookshops some love this holiday season. What they have may just surprise you.