Small Business Saturday: Household Books
Posted on October 21, 2023 Posted by Athena Scalzi 14 Comments
If you read my post over an event I went to recently called Plates & Pages at Five on Vine in Cincinnati, you may recall me talking about the bookstore that was the “pages” part of the event. I enjoyed the pop-up shop at the event and conversing with the owner so much that I decided to visit the actual bookstore, Household Books, at its location only two miles down the road from the restaurant. It’s located in Walnut Hills, which is an area of Cinci I’d never been to before, but it’s super close to the University of Cincinnati, Eden Park, the Cincinnati Ballet, and the Cincinnati Art Museum.
Upon walking into the bookstore, I was surprised at how large and open the space was.
The owner, Bobby Minelli, welcomed me in and gave me the grand tour as he told me a little bit about the space, as well as some of his plans and goals for Household.
There’s this cozy little art-lounge section:
A curated collection of vintage clothing takes up most of the back left section of the store:
This is also where the records are!
As well as more art on the walls:
There’s a whole wall of cookbooks:
And a separate shelf of extra cool vintage cookbooks (I might be a little biased, but this was definitely my favorite section):
Aside from the wonderful and diverse collection of used books, records, and vintage clothing, they also have rare books and first editions, like this version of The Princess Bride:
Or all these cool designs of the Harry Potter series:
I’m not sure if you can read the sign on top, but it states that fifty percent of all Harry Potter sales will be donated to organizations that protect our Trans community. Barnes & Noble could never.
If browsing books isn’t your style, they also host tons of community events! Black youth reading nights, yoga, comedy shows, music, and more. Plus, their collaborative off-site events like Plates & Pages, which is happening again at Five on Vine next week on Wednesday the 25th. Sadly, I can’t attend this one, as I’ll be out of town, but if you go let me know how amazing it was.
These types of events are essential to what Household Books is all about: community and connection. Household is meant to be a place of engagement and enrichment for all in the community.
Of course, I had some burning questions about owning a bookstore and some of the books in the vast collection, and Bobby was kind enough to answer all of them for me!
Here’s a few:
As you can see, Household Books is a truly wonderful space that I highly encourage checking out for yourself. There’s art to enjoy, great music to hear, friendly staff to converse with, and so many books to check out! I’m delighted to know that such a cool place exists in Cinci. Even if it is a bit of a drive for me, I’m glad that people in the area have such an accessible, welcoming place to peruse books.
What a wonderful place and welcoming visit. Thanks for posting this.
Looks like someone’s very welcoming lounge room …
The family and I will be in Cincy for a performance of Fiona: The Musical. We’ll have to check out Household Books while we’re there.
For a store loaded with cookbooks… if you’re ever in NYC there’s “Kitchen Arts & Letters” https://www.kitchenartsandletters.com/
My corner of Ottawa needs a store like this.
This is the best bookseller policy about Harry Potter that I’ve ever heard of.
Sounds like a lovely place.
And Kavalier and Clay is an amazing book. One of my favorites
I have a first edition of a cool science fiction book called “Old Man’s War”. I hope to meet the author one day so he can autograph it for me.
Once again, a shoutout to all bookstores run by your local Friends of the Library organizations!
A wonderful sounding place!
In my mind I’m on the plane to Cincinnati. I wish this place were in Boston, though we have the marvelous Brookline Booksmith (with vintage clothes practically next door). Thanks, Athena!
if you should hear that delightful shoppe was jacked up off its foundations on a moonless night, outright stolen, loaded on a barge to sailed off to ports unknown… nope I didn’t do it nor should anyone waste their time looking for it in my neighborhood…
New York used to have all sorts of quirky shoppes but alas as rent per square foot has spiked into insane numbers there’s no longer much in way of quirk… we need it more than you do…
In Kansas City, Missouri, there is Prospero’s Books. It’s on 39th Street. There are three floors of books in what used to be a hardware store.
Thanks for sharing Athena!
Love the policy on HP books – smart and giving. Especially as I am pretty sure the profit on new HP books hovers around 40-45%, so that means the owner loses/donates 5-10% on every HP book sold and makes no profit on it.
Always inspired by stories of indie bookstores making it!