JEFFERSON – Sandy Mitchell Pavick, the author of local history books such as “Historic Churches of Ashtabula County” and “Around Jefferson and Roaming Shores,” said she has heard people at her book signing table ask for other information on Ohio.
With so many talented Ohio writers and interesting stories about the state, she decided to start The Ohio Reader, a popup bookstore, to satisfy their curiosity.
“The Ohio Reader is the natural extension of selling my Ohio history books and other books by Arcadia Publishing,” she said.
According to Pavick, the bookstore model for The Ohio Reader is a “mobile bookstore” that comes to where people are, rather than having them come to a physical bookstore.
“Because of the small-ish nature of my bookstore, the books I offer are carefully chosen by me, and I’ve read and can discuss all of them,” she said. “Books you’ll find vary to match the geography and demographics of each event, but include both fiction and non-fiction titles, as well as children’s’ books for all ages. The common thread is that they are all either about Ohio or by an Ohio author – or both.”
In this commercial venture, Pavick said she is enjoying sharing her favorite, and sometimes lesser known, authors and Ohio stories with readers.
At each event, Pavick will have between 50-100 carefully-chosen titles, including her own and other Arcadia titles.
“I’m getting books via the customary bookstore distribution channels, just like bricks and mortar bookstores do,” she said.
Right now, she is selecting the authors and books she wants to feature.
“I would like to stress – since I’ve had questions – my bookstore supports local authors,” she said. “Authors that I feature all receive royalties on their work, just as if their books were sold in a bricks and mortar bookstore.”
Pavick said she has a full schedule of events planned, which can be found by scrolling to the middle of the page at sandypavick.com.
She said the highlights on her schedule include Light Up the Park in Madison on Aug. 8, the Punderson State Park Craft Show on Aug. 15, Austinburg Country Days on Aug. 28-30 and Geneva Grape JAMboree Sept. 26.
“I’m also organizing special events at local wineries and breweries, including ‘Wine and Words’ at Grand River Cellars on Oct. 16 and ‘Books and Brews’ at The Darkroom Brewing Company in Geneva Nov. 13,” she said. “Both these events will include The Ohio Reader plus other booksellers and book-related vendors. For example, there’ll be a woman who makes book-shaped sugar cookies and another who makes art from discarded books, plus several local authors. Lake Erie Book Company will be participating in the Geneva event.”
She noted that The Ohio Reader just officially became a bookstore on July 20, but the response so far has been enthusiastic.
“The demise of readers has been greatly exaggerated!” she said. “For example, I was set up at the three-day Wine and Walleye Festival last weekend and sold out of several titles.”
In addition to the commercial aspect of her venture, Pavick said she loves introducing readers to new books and talking about books.
“I’ve been training for this job since I was 16 and bought my first book with my own money – a leather-bound copy of Thoreau’s ‘Walden,’” she said.
Why does she think it’s important for people to read books by Ohio authors?
“Ohio has such a rich history,” Pavick said. “I think it’s important for new residents as well as life-long residents to connect with stories of the past and with different voices that emerge from our little corner of the world.”
Pavick sees the benefits of reading.
“Everybody wins when more people read,” she said.
A Sr. Warden at Christ Episcopal Church in Geneva, Pavick’s full list of books are: “Cleveland’s Little Italy,” “Cleveland’s Slavic Village,” “Historic Churches of Ashtabula County,” “Images of America: Painesville” and “Around Jefferson, Rock Creek and Roaming Shores.”
“Images of America: Clarion, PA” will be coming in 2027.
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