We are continuing our tour here, and Brain Lair Books is a staple here in Michiana and I love what you guys do here.

Kathy.

It's really such an important thing that you guys have offered to the community.

And being that local bookstore, tell us more about why you have this business.

Several years ago.

I have a daughter who's 30 now, but when she was in school, she could never find a book that represents who she was.

She's by a ratio.

And so I set out to find those books after doing research showing that people who don't see themselves in books have a hard time understanding their place.

And so I wanted to make sure that all kids could be represented in books.

And so we started that way as a librarian and then quit my job after 2016 to try to do it on a bigger scale.

And this is what you guys are doing here?

Yes.

I love it, and you really address everyone there's children right here too, right?

We started as a children's only bookstore.

So downtown on Jefferson.

I remember that kids only.

Okay.

You brought in some adult books.

And then when we moved here, we went more adult and less kids.

Okay, so tell us some of the books that you guys might have here.

You want to show us around a little bit is you guys.

I mean, you guys even have other stuff to you.

Do you have some?

We do.

Good evening gifts.

We try we I try to find things that compliment books, to make the book more, which I, I'm a huge fan of books, read a lot.

And so books are my thing.

But I'm like, okay, what else can we get that might go with that?

Candles of course.

And we have very our thing is come for the books, stay for the sarcasm.

So we have very, off the wall kind of gifts as well as regular things.

Right now we're highlighting a lot of voices that are, queer.

And we are looking for different types of queer voices, too, because we want to make sure the more stories you read about, well, research shows fiction builds empathy, right?

And so the more fictional stories you read about people, the more empathy you have towards them.

And so that's kind of why we do more fiction than nonfiction, because it's easier to hide behind numbers when you're doing nonfiction.

You could set yourself off.

This is just data.

This is just the this is for sure people I don't really care about.

Yeah, the fiction brings you in with it and you learn more about that person.

You learn more about that culture, about that voice, and then that helps you when you see people to make that transition to wonderful.

What a wonderful thing to do.

So I love this.

So let's walk over here a little bit.

So you have some nice walls.

Yeah.

So this is kind of like start with what new in what we just got in.

See we had some signed copies of Schwab's, one of my favorite authors.

You guys have authors come in?

We have out this.

Come in.

We just did.

Ibram Kendi, who wrote, stamped from the beginning.

He was just here in May.

So then before that, we had Jason Reynolds.

We partnered with the library and a lot of things, too.

So Jason Reynolds, we have an author coming at the end of this month.

Nevo will be here.

Great.

All right.

Let's keep walking down here.

So the stores of range and things I like.

So we start with romance.

So Kathy is like, it is romance, sci fi, fantasy.

General fic, I think is mysteries next and then historical.

Okay, so really nice.

All right.

Yeah, we have poetry, we have graphic novels.

These are all young adult and kid books.

That is not like all this over there reading.

Right?

So yes.

Yeah.

And if somebody wanted to order a book, they could do that too.

That's on our website.

We have a full fledged e-commerce website.

You can order any book that's in print, unless it's a book that goes against the marginalized voices that I'm uplifting.

Okay.

We won't order it.

We may send you to someone else.

Unless we think that book is really harmful.

If it's super harmful, I just say, no, we can't order that for you.

And why is it important for you guys to have a bookstore like this?

This is important for me.

I know it's younger.

Yes, yes.

No, I think it's important so that people can easily find other voices.

Right.

When you go to a bigger bookstore that carries everything, it's difficult for you to find something that's not on the New York Times bestseller list or that book tok is talking about.

So this way, which we follow up book tok is talking about.

So then I can say to you, oh, you like this book tok book, here's this other, but it's also similar to that.

And we carry some of those books at well, we have the romanticism.

But to help people just find it like but easier.

Yeah.

If you have to search for a lot of times you won't look for it.

And so you just go with what's available and what's in front of you.

So I want to center those.

So if I'm to come in or, you know, anybody else out there, if you guys want to come in and you're like, I want to read a book and I don't really know, you know, an author or a title, but like, can you help me figure out what might be a good selection?

Is that something you guys can help with?

I usually say, tell me what things you like to do.

Okay.

Tell me what things you don't like to do.

And what's your last movie that you liked?

I asked different questions, so then I can see.

Oh, okay.

This is really person like artificial intelligence or robots.

Oh, they like romance, but they only like this kind of romance.

Let me find this for them as a contemporary or historical.

Like I try to ask you questions that will lead me to giving you using them over what?

I overwhelm people with ten books that kind of have what I think would be your vibe.

Make it your list, write your list, look through them and decide, okay, now when can people visit you?

How can they get more information?

We are open Wednesdays through Saturdays and Wednesday through Friday.

We're open to six.

Saturday and Sunday we're open 11 to 4.

All right.

And everybody can come to your website to get can share with you dot Brain Lair books dot com.

We're Brain Lair books everywhere.

So on Instagram and Facebook and tik tok supporting our local businesses like you guys.

Yes.

That's what keeps us here.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

No thank you I appreciate it.