The family owned and operated Second Story bookstore, located in downtown Laramie, Wyoming at 105 E Ivinson Ave, offers 15% off discounts to book group members on their current group reads. Furthermore, students can get a discount on books.
One book group meets in the Second Story bookstore Thursdays at 7 p.m. to discuss the current book they are going through.The club mostly consists of older women with a few younger aged ladies. The bookstore did not start this club but offers a space for the group to meet and the store provides discounts for them.
Other clubs are more than welcome to be started and utilize the Second Story space as well. They too will get a discount on their chosen books for the group.
Second Story bookstore also gives away advanced readers which are books sent by publishers before they are released to see if the bookstore wants to carry them.
Second Story started up around 1989 by the current co-owner’s mother. Karen Voigt, the co-owner, said her mom retired as the Law Librarian at the University of Wyoming and started Second Story. Karen said her and her sister helped their mom with the store as they continued working other jobs themselves.
“I was an elementary librarian for 30 years, so I have always been around books and matching books and people. It is delightful working in a bookstore. The customers are interesting and it’s exciting to talk about what we are all reading,” said Karen Voigt.
Karen’s mom passed away and the sisters inherited the store.
According to Karen Voigt, there are anywhere from 50 to 100 individuals who go through the bookstore daily. The holidays encompass many more customers than usual. Sixty percent of the individuals coming through are female, but other than that, Karen sees all ages and all demographics in her store.
The top selling genre of books for the Second Story bookstore is paperback fiction with children’s books coming in a close second. Karen said her favorite is also fiction along with mystery books, but if a non-fiction gets a good review, she will check that out as well.
The store also has an assortment of cards, bookmarks, games, puzzles, and gift items. Karen said the biggest seller every week for them though is Swedish Dish Cloths.
You can hear more about the Second Story bookstore through the Wyoming Public Radio in the months of November and December when more advertising is done.
If you would like to reach out to Karen to ask about books or other bookstore items, or if you would like to start a book group, give the store a call at (307)-745-4423. The store is open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed on Sundays.
Make sure to follow the Second Story bookstore on Facebook! You can also check out the book club, named The Second Story Book Group, on Facebook.
Media by Kathryn 