The reading resurgence in Reno

Since the pandemic, people have started reading significantly more. Is this reading resurgence enough to keep two local bookstores in Reno afloat?

The pandemic has created economic problems in several communities with local businesses struggling to stay afloat.

But there have been some positives to the pandemic as well. With more people staying inside due to the lockdowns, many isolated activities such as reading have come back in full force. The isolation and social distancing in 2020 has caused 35% of the world to read more, with 14% of people saying they read significantly more during the pandemic (Caplan, 2020).

But is this a win for bookstores, or for online retailers like Amazon? For Sundance Books and Music in Reno, the pandemic has been a huge benefit to sales, specifically in online sales. Prior to the shutdown, their customer base was almost exclusively in person, with only 3–4% of sales coming from the online store.

Once the pandemic hit, loyal customers had no choice but to turn to the online store.

“Our customer base started knocking on the door, virtually,” Christine Kelly, owner of Sundance Books and Music said. “We were very fortunate to have had a substantial increase in our web sales and a great deal of support and are very grateful for that.”

But will Sundance Books do well even post-pandemic, when people are reading less? And how will they stay relevant to competition from other bookstores in Reno?

Christine Kelly feels that competition isn’t really a concern and is confident that after 36 years of operation, it will take a lot for Sundance to go anywhere.

Even if online sales plummet, Sundance has plenty to keep it afloat: a unique “go on a date with a book” experience in which customers can pick a book based off its opening sentence; funky socks to buy at the front; a gift shop section with candles, figurines, games and more; and in a pre and post-pandemic world, the store offers live music or live reading events.

All of this is what keeps the Reno local community excited about reading, and excited about Sundance, but its important to note that Sundance isn’t the only local bookstore in town.

Just on the other side of town is a bookstore called Grassroots Books. This bookstore is not in a luxurious Victorian house, but has different advantages that draw customers in.

Every Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. the bookstore has an outdoor sale where customers can shop for books, DVDs, CDs and vinyl all for 99 cents or less. The sale has been a huge hit since the pandemic because it makes customers feel safe while they are shopping. The store even has a sale on Sundays, where customers can bring their own bag and fill it with whatever they want for only $5.

And throughout the month of April, the store is focusing on reading amongst the youth. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the store is giving 50 free books to children within a 50 mile radius to ensure they have a home library they like. The children are able to pick the books themselves from over 1000 options.

The giving back that Grassroots does for the Reno community is especially important to the owner Zoe Miller, whose mission is to, “make reading in Reno affordable.”

The more books the better

It is clear that these two local bookstores have contrasting business models, but the two are not in direct competition with each other.

“Sundance can sell books however they want,” Miller said. “It’s all about more circulation of books in Reno.”

Both bookstores are near and dear to Reno locals’ heart, and its safe to say that neither are going anywhere anytime soon.