ARTS & CULTURE
Pop-up bookstore is on the move around St. Pete
Alsace Walentine is turning the idea of
a small, local bookstore around with
her book pop-up shop Tombolo Books.
Walentine has worked in the book-selling
business for 20 years, starting in Asheville,
North Carolina, so she knows a thing
or two about what it takes to keep avid
readers interested in new materials.
When her wife Candice Anderson moved
Walentine was a bit reluctant because
it meant leaving her career in Asheville
and starting over in a new city. Once she
visited St. Pete a few times, she realized
there wasn’t a bookstore anywhere in the
area like the one she previously worked at
in North Carolina.
“I was an author events director, so I got
to work with authors and match them
34 StPeteLifeMag.com November/December 2018
with groups of people. It really has a big
impact on people’s lives when they meet
these authors. I loved making that special
thing happen all the time,” Walentine
explains.
The idea behind Tombolo Books is
simple: give St. Pete readers the
literature. “In early 2017, we started a
book club at a local yoga studio - Body
Electric - so that was the initial step
in our business,” said Walentine, who
co-owns the business with Anderson.
There isn’t a brick and mortar shop yet,
under way.
“Tombolo” means “connecting readers
to each other,” and that is what she plans
to do by bringing in their favorite authors
for events. “Author events, community
Tombolo Books
BY ALEXANDRIA JONES
/StPeteLifeMag.com