*A comfy place to read (photo: Pablo Sierra)*

Any neighborhood would be lucky to have even one bookstore located within a 10 miles — Petworth has an amazing library and the phenomenal Upshur Street Books. On Saturday, February 6th, we’ll officially have one more with the grand opening of Walls of Books.

Doors open at 10am, with a ribbon cutting at 10:30am. The rest of the morning and early afternoon is dedicated to the little readers of our neighborhood, with a morning of BearSong at 11am, story time by Corrinne Callins reading her book “A Day in the Life of a Shoe” at 12pm, and story time with Leslie Saint-Julien reading her book “Brooklyn Stew” at 1 pm. Corrinne and Leslie will stay afterwards to sign their books, as well. They’ll have food and drink, raffles, prizes and art by Victory Dance Creative too.

Owner Pablo Sierra took a risk by leaving behind his business consulting gig and opening up a retail business. Taking what was a very rough-looking vacant property located at 3325 Georgia Avenue, he has successfully created a literary oasis that’s inviting to readers of all ages. You’ll find couches and chairs up front, and in the back a large space dedicated to children, perfect for story time (in English and Spanish) and Melissa and Doug educational toys.

When I spoke to Pablo about the store this weekend, he said one of the things that surprised him the most was the passion customers have for the books they find at the store — especially the ones they didn’t realize they were looking for until they found them.

“One woman brought this book up she found, all excited about it. Said she had been looking for it for a long time,” Pablo said. “Her energy was contagious as she explained the book to me, it was great.”

Walls of Books offers used books at low prices, along with new books and bestsellers. According to Pablo, one of the early collections that regularly sells out are the shelves with “Pablo’s Favorites” on them. “I was really surprised by that, and find myself careful with what I pick,” he said.

One nice option offered by Walls of Books is that you can sell your used books to the store (even ones you purchased recently from them) to get discounts and credits on other book purchases.

Stop by on Saturday, February 6th to celebrate the opening of a great new resource for the Petworth and Park View communities!