Bookish and Proud: A Love Letter to Salt Lake and Literature

How do you create commonality and community while bringing a touch of metropolitan flair? That’s exactly what Bookish SLC founders Whitney and Amanda Warren sought to answer when they discussed hosting their first reading party that has since blossomed into something bigger than they could have anticipated. 

Whitney and Amanda were raised in a bookish family that nurtured their love for reading. They both moved to separate big cities, with Whitney moving to Los Angeles and Amanda moving to New York. COVID brought them back to Utah, but they soon realized that they missed the metropolitan life and wanted to bring some of that to Salt Lake. This combined with their love of literature sparked an idea in both of them to host their first reading party. Whitney states that they wanted a “safe space to create community and meet new people. A space for people to connect that’s low-stakes.”

Amanda adds to this by saying, “Even our name ‘Bookish’ is sort of embracing an analog lifestyle with the art of physical media and books. It’s also about the art of a conversation and being able to bring people together and connect. Books don’t require you to speak about yourself, so it’s a really great, safe conversation starter.”

Since then, their collaboration has shifted to Amanda taking the reins with the face-forward aspect of Bookish with social media and content creation, while Whitney works in the background coordinating events. Even with the adjustments of working so closely with family, their mission to keep the space inclusive and accessible to people from different backgrounds and gender identities is the driving factor that pushes their collaboration with one another.

One of the events that Bookish SLC is proud of is the Indie Bookstore Crawl. Co-founder Amanda explains that it’s “a love affair that I have with Utah and its indie bookstores. The crawl was a really fun way to get people to shop locally across the state with a map to guide you. It actually existed before it was handed to us. It had some Lord of the Rings fantasy heritage to it, and we worked to incorporate that. This year we did a sprint and had over 200 people going to ten indie bookstores with 90% reporting a skyrocket in sales.” She adds, “It’s not just for Bookish; it’s for people to have fun and a love letter to Salt Lake, our indie bookstores and our community.”

They don’t just host the Indie Bookstore Crawl. They’ve also done spelling bees, reading parties, singles mixers and hosted lectures such as Perspectives over Pints at Fisher Brewing. With all of these events, their reading parties are their bread and butter. “We get people together to share silence. We sandwich an hour of silent reading time with thirty minutes of socializing on either end, hosting it at a different location each time. Kind of like the bookstore crawl, it’s a love letter to Salt Lake and these places that people maybe haven’t been to in a while or ever,” Whitney says. 

“There’s something to be said about the lost art that ‘reading is pleasure,’” Amanda notes, “and I think that we’re in such a divided time, and we’re seeing the impact across the board of what happens when people stop reading. So as much as Bookish is here for community, fun and frivolity, we’re also here for literacy rates and reading comprehension.” Whitney adds, “So put down your phone and pick up a book.” 

Whether you’re an avid reader or haven’t read in years, Bookish is here to foster an environment that encourages reading and community. Catch them at Kilby Court in August, Memory Grove in September, or at the Salt Lake Book Festival on October 17. Details can be found on their website bookishslc.com or Instagram @bookish_slc.

Read about other ways reading is being celebrated in Salt Lake City:
Taking Charge of the Narrative with Reneé Stirling-DeHaan
Marissa’s Books: A Treasure Trove for Bookworms of All Ages

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