Pagination Bookshop
Image courtesy of the store.
“We like to think coming into our shop is like visiting a beloved neighbor who is obsessed with books and reading,” says Jen Murvin, Co-Owner of Pagination Bookshop.
This isn’t hard to imagine, seeing as the store is housed in a 1905 historic residence on a tree-lined street, just a few blocks from the Missouri State University campus in Downtown Springfield, the state’s third-largest city. As a visitor to the store, you will enter the foyer and be presented with the opportunity to choose your own adventure. Will you turn right, stepping into the home’s dining room-turned-children’s space with exposed, original brick wall, uniquely-patterned walnut flooring, and new tiny stories to discover? Or might you instead choose to stay straight, heading toward the main room of the shop with its fireplace, cozy seating, and original built-in bookcases? A small room housing sci-fi and fantasy titles as well as a backyard space with a planned vegetable and herb garden are two other good options, but if I were you, I’d be drawn to a little closet under the staircase transformed into a Hobbit Hole, celebrating the shop’s love of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Image courtesy of the store.
Regardless of which direction you take, you will be met with huge windows letting in lots of natural light, the soft sound of shuffling book pages, and, depending on who’s working at the store that day, perhaps some French music or the smell of fresh-baked cookies from the kitchen prepared for monthly Book Club. Just talking about it makes Murvin yearn for the days when everyone will feel safe gathering inside together again.
Murvin and co-owner Kory Cooper had always loved indie bookstores, but a weekend trip in 2018 to see George Saunders at St. Louis’s Left Bank Books is what inspired them to finally consider opening up one of their own. “Once we uttered the idea out loud, it took over, and we were committed,” says Murvin. Although three years have passed since that initial conversation, Pagination’s goals remain the same: to provide a space committed to the power of literature and literacy; to give the community a real, physical space in which reading, writing, and meaningful interactions about literature and creativity can happen; and to curate books for real readers.
“People in Springfield love to talk and connect,” says Murvin. “Community is everything here. We’re a big small town. And we know our customers: their favorite authors, their families, their anniversaries, their birthdays, their reading goals, and of course what book they read last.” A big part of Pagination interacting with their community involves offering curated reading list recommendations to customers and being able to share their favorite books—often alongside their favorite food and recipes—at in-store gatherings, laughing and talking and crying all together.
Image courtesy of the store.
One of the biggest challenges the pandemic has presented to the store is moving most of their communication with customers online. “We can’t gather inside the house for Book Club, Poetry Discussion and Open Night, or any in-person author events,” says Murvin. “I miss being with everyone and those really energizing conversations about books and writing in person.” However, Murvin has also tried to find the silver lining in the situation. “In many ways, this pandemic has taught us how to be more inclusive and innovative,” she adds, noting that Pagination has expanded their reach across the country, with readers now able to order online and have books shipped both locally and nationwide. Pagination has also established a gifting service where readers can still rely on the shop to curate literary gifts for their loved ones, helping staff continue to feel close to their community. “We love helping send the perfect new book, journal, crafting set, puzzle, or stationery to deliver a little love during these months we’ve had to spend time away from each other,” says Murvin.
Although Pagination plans to continue offering Zoom options for all of their events going forward, in order to increase accessibility, they are very excited about starting to hold in-person gatherings in their backyard space, and hope to resume monthly Book Club and open mic night for local writers soon. And as the country begins to re-open and return to “normal,” the store remains as dedicated to their mission statement as ever, including their strong belief in the importance of Black and trans lives, as well as in defending civil rights, the environment, social justice, health and wellness, and the arts and humanities.
“Bookstores facilitate an important dynamic between readers and books that is unique,” says Murvin. “They are that ‘third place’ in people’s lives, a place to gather and exchange ideas, settle into a chair, find new books, read to each other, and travel home with a book you never knew you needed, but that might make all the difference.” She remains excited and hopeful that Pagination will continue to be able to offer a space where the Springfield community can browse and discover for many years to come. “We like the phrase, ‘People, not algorithms,’” she adds. “The relationships built here and the activities we engage in are all centered on books because they’re essential to our growth as human beings. We believe in the power of story and narrative. We believe literature can change the world.”
Recommendations from the Booksellers
They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib
“I love this lyric essay so much, and I’ve actually taught it now in several courses in Creative Nonfiction at Missouri State University,” says Murvin of this collection. They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill US explores the world through music and culture, with Abdurraqib trying to make better sense of the everyday threats that Black Americans face by recounting memories of his own encounters with the police, while wondering how the next generation of young Muslims will cope. “Each time I read it, it teaches me something new, about both its subjects and its form,” Murvin adds, noting one of her favorite pieces is the self-erasure “August 9th, 2014,” a meditation on the murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson.
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
The Neapolitan quartet follows two friends growing up in the post-war outskirts of Naples and spanning their lives for almost sixty years. This first book in the series focuses on the girls initial meeting and then their friendship throughout their childhoods. “Ferrante’s novels are part-intricate history and part-addictive gossip,” says Senior Bookseller Shane Page, who is a fan of the astounding depth of characterization that the entire quartet provides. “You’ll walk the streets with Lila and Lenù, learning their secrets, experiencing their heartbreaks, and believing you’re a part of their world until you finally must say goodbye.”
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
This modern coming-of-age classic is a favorite of Cooper’s, who says, “[Tartt’s] prose is vivid and engrossing, and her characters are flawed, aching, and unforgettable.” The Pulitzer Prize winner tells the story of a young teenage boy, Theo Decker, in New York City, who grieves for the loss of his mother after a tragic accident by developing a connection with a small, mysterious painting. This decision pulls Theo into a wealthy and insular art community with dangerous behaviors that somehow leave him even more isolated as an adult.
Image courtesy of the store.
