As you walk through the doors of the small strip mall shop, you’re immediately struck with a welcoming sense of comfort and coziness. Shelves line the walls, laden with books, while tables and cases display local jewelry and other artworks. A friendly dog, Oso, greets you, looking up at you with loving eyes as his tail wags for your presence. Behind the counter sits a smiling woman, Teresa Kenney, founder and owner of Village Books.
Kenney started the store in 2013 while working as a freelance author and magazine writer. She wanted to give something to the community, so her ideas were sparked when she saw a bookstore for sale. She didn’t like the location, but she did like the idea of sharing her love of books with the community. So, after some encouragement from her friends and family, Kenney decided to buy her current store, with a more preferable location, and start this chapter of her life.
“I felt like I needed to give back to the community because you only have so much time left on the planet,” Kenney said. “I wanted to do something as my last hurrah.”
And given back to the community she has – in 2024, Kenney established Reading is Revolutionary, a nonprofit that focuses on getting books into the hands of young readers and members of underprivileged communities, as well as hosting events and workshops.
“We have a program called Pack Horse Librarians,” Kenney said about one of the parts of the nonprofit, “and it’s based off of how, during the Great Depression, the government hired women to go out into the remote areas of Appalachia on the backs of mules or horses and distribute reading materials into really remote areas where people didn’t have schools and libraries, and so they were able to give recipes and Bibles and books. It would encourage literacy. We have a program that’s similar to that in that we go into more economically disadvantaged areas within our county and we give away free books, and it’s so much fun.”
When asked why she gave the nonprofit its name and how she feels that reading is revolutionary, Kenney gave a list of reasons.
“There are so many ways! It gives us empathy, it shows us that we’re not alone. It’s fabulous for mental health. It helps you communicate with other people. It helps you realize there are other people who see the world the way that you do and people who don’t, and you’re able to see that view through their eyes. It can really just open up worlds for people in many different ways.”
Another way that Kenney gives back is by speaking out against banning books, to make sure everyone’s stories are told.
“I feel like people’s voices and stories are sacred,” Kenney said. “You can’t determine what is and isn’t a story worth telling. When you take certain books off shelves, you are directly saying to them that their story is not worth telling. And that is simply not true.”
There’s so much to love in the store, but the community’s favorite is probably Oso, the ‘bookstore dog’ adopted from a local shelter, Pure Mutts Animal Sanctuary.
“When people come in, they first concentrate on Oso, and then they say hi to me. I think he’s everybody’s favorite, and I think he makes kids more comfortable.”
Kenney’s strive to help kids become comfortable both in the bookstore and with reading in general doesn’t end there. One of her favorite things for this is hosting author visits.
“I think that one thing a lot of people don’t realize is that when kids meet an author, they realize that they can tell stories too,” Kenney said. “It’s just thrilling to see the kids who are so excited to meet them.”
Not only does the store carry books, it also has local jewelry, stationary, and book-themed novelties.
“I recognize that not everybody reads,” Kenney said. “But I feel like, if you come in here, you can get something for everyone.”
As previously mentioned, the store hosts and is part of many events.
“We have some holiday stuff coming up,” Kenney said. She also shared some of the events the shop has planned for the future,“we also do Books on the Green, which is at the Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival. We have a large tent out there that’s focused on Literary Arts, and so we have that coming up in the spring again. We’re lucky to get a portion of [the 20,000 festival visitors] to stop by our tent and talk and listen to authors.”
The bookstore is a wonderful center that cherishes love of books and community in harmony, and Kenney feels that love herself.
“It’s given me a home. A community of friends. I’ve not experienced that anywhere else I’ve lived, that feeling of being part of something, of working towards a bigger goal, whether that’s to fight book bans or to encourage people to tell their stories or to just encourage reading! It’s given me a way to give back.”
