Later, the shop moved to current owner Susan Post’s apartment after struggles with a landlord at the first location, Post said.
Post joined the collective through her job in The University of Texas at Austin library system. The job is also where she found her love of books.
“Books had really help save my life on a lot of levels,” Post said. “I realized I liked touching books. I liked being around them.”
After most of the women from the original collective moved on, Post took what was then named The Common Woman Bookstore under her wing. The bookstore has had a total of five locations, but it has always found a home near the university.
“We wanted to reach all women, but especially young women,” Post said. “[We wanted] to help women live a better life at the earliest possible stage in their lives.”
The store started with $500 and volunteers, and 46 years later it still struggles financially, especially with getting the word out about the store. Post said the store has books for all different types of women, but sometimes women do not realize how inclusive the store is from the outside.
The store is “an intersectional bookstore that’s interested in everyone that comes in,” Post said.
BookWoman is involved in Austin through events, fundraisers and donations. For Amplify Austin, BookWoman donated a portion of online and in-store sales to GirlForward. GirlForward is a nonprofit organization that empowers refugee girls ages 12-21 in the Austin area.
“We’re here for the community. If we don’t have [a book], we’ll get it, and we’ll be able to introduce you to books you didn’t know existed,” Post said.
BookWoman
5501 N. Lamar Blvd., Ste. A-105, Austin
512-472-2785
www.ebookwoman.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. noon-4 p.m.
