WIMBERLEY — After moving south to avoid the cold in July 2024, Nicolle Reid noticed a gap in her new home of Wimberley: There wasn’t a bookstore. Looking to remedy this, she decided to create her own, Books of Wimberley, which opened the first weekend of February 2025.
“I’ve always had such a comforting and happy feeling when I’m at the library and at bookstores and Wimberley doesn’t have a bookstore, so I thought, ‘I’m gonna see how I can make this happen,’” said Reid. “In my experience with a book shop that I would go to on a regular basis in our old town of Bend, Oregon, they had a community space and it was just these cool, old, overstuffed leather chairs with kind of a coffee table in the center. They regularly had book clubs and nature nights and author visits and stuff. I just always thought, ‘Gosh, this is such a cool way for people to get to know one another, as well as learn.’”
While doing research regarding her future bookstore, Reid discovered the idea of starting out by selling at farmers markets and fairs, instead of going straight into a brick-and-mortar store. So, that’s what she decided to do, but the process didn’t come without its learning curve.
“At first, I started with bookcases that I would put on a little dolly and take them to farmers markets and set them up with a big carpet in the center,” said Reid. “Oh my gosh, books are heavy. I decided approximately six weeks after doing that every weekend, that I should try to have more of a ‘bookmobile.’ So, I purchased an enclosed trailer and put bookshelves inside and now, it's way easier. I just have to learn how to back up my trailer.”
Reid started out getting the books for the pop-up shop mostly through donations from family and friends. Her first round of family donations resulted in approximately 300 books. More recently, she’s had friends in the Austin area donate more than 200 children's books. As she has increased the number of appearances at events this spring, she’s taken to pursuing thrift stores and secondhand stores, even libraries getting rid of some of their older inventory, to grow her offerings
According to Reid, while she loves selling at farmers markets and fairs around Hays County, she would love to do more events in Wimberley.
The shop owner recalled her favorite interaction so far, in which a 10-year-old boy was intrigued by one of the titles in the trailer.
“‘The Dangerous Book for Boys’ was the title and inside, it's all about what kind of like a boy scout would do — learn to make a fire, build a tree fort [and] learn how to whittle — but he was attracted to the word ‘dangerous.’ So, he’s hopping up and down in the book shop, saying ‘Dad, Dad, I want this book so bad,’” said Reid. “So, the mom sweeps in and says, ‘I’m buying this book for my son.’ And she said, ‘You know, he really wants to be a boy scout. I bet this is going to get him on the right track. He’ll enjoy reading about this.’”
The book had been donated by Reid’s family friend, who happened to be an Eagle Scout.
“So, I had to tell them that this book belonged to an Eagle Scout and it’s been in good hands with a former boy scout. So, that was a really sweet connection,” said Reid.
One crucial aspect Reid noted is how vital it is to be sustainable.
“I really want to emphasize the importance of recycling things and reusing them, like selling used books, because they just have such a wonderful purpose. And there’s so much value to them,” she said.
While starting a brick-and-mortar store is in the plans for Reid, she’s rather enjoying the mobile pop-up style business.
“To tell you the truth, I really think I could embrace the novelty of having a mobile bookshop, it’s something that people are attracted to,” said Reid. “People are in a happy mood at a festival and they just want to get a book and take it home. I just thought, why not stick with this for a little bit longer? Because my goal was — probably at the 18 month mark or so — to move into a brick-and-mortar, but now I feel like I might change my tune to maybe after 24 months, really investigate this.”
Instead, Reid will be focusing on upgrading shelves and the trailer in general. In the future, she hopes to hire a local artist to paint a mural on the side of the trailer.
“I just want to really say that there’s a whole lot of life in a used book still because the story in it hasn’t changed,” concluded Reid. “Even if the cover is a little tattered, you can still be taken away and learn something.”
To learn more about the Books of Wimberley pop-up shop or to see where it’s traveling next, visit www.facebook.com/booksofwimberley or @books_of_wimberley on Instagram.
