‘Little space, big stories’: Mobile bookstore opens in Williston

WILLISTON, N.D. (KMOT) - There’s a new bookstore in Williston, and this one’s on wheels!

It’s a mobile shop bringing new and trendy books to rural communities.

Tori Lee and Andrea Placher both work at the Williston Community Library.

When they found out about this mobile bookstore, they wanted to see it right away.

“The first time I was a customer on this mobile bookstore was out in Crosby, North Dakota. I’ve never been to Crosby before that. I literally went to Crosby just to be a customer that day,” said Lee.

Owner Nicole Holdaway bought the previous Ward County Bookmobile last December and made it her own.

It’s called “Reading Between the Lanes.”

“The opportunity to come into a bookstore that have books that I’m geared towards, I thought, ‘There’s got to be more people who are like me,’” said Holdaway.

Holdaway said reading is a huge part of her life.

Growing up in rural towns, she always had to rely on buying her books online.

“We are lucky enough to have a bookstore in Williston, but a lot of rural communities and Williams County specifically, don’t have access to books like that,” said Lee.

Placher said the community library can’t always keep up with the newest books.

“I always say, I wish I could have that library experience that everyone else has, but when you work there, it’s not the same. It’s work. When you come here, you’re like ‘Oh my gosh, this is so amazing, there’s so many great things.’ It’s just a different experience,” said Placher.

You can think of Holdaway as a matchmaker, but for books. If you don’t know what book to choose, she’ll ask you questions to get to know your interests. Then she’ll have the perfect book for you to read.

“It’s a lot of fun to be able to talk books to like-minded people who are interested in the same things I’m interested in,” said Holdaway.

You can find hundreds of books from romance, to fantasy, to thriller and more.

“There’s nothing better than just kind of turning your brain off and getting lost in someone else’s story,” said Holdaway.

Sometimes all it takes is a little space to tell big stories.

Reading Between the Lanes also carries independently published books, supporting small and local authors.

They plan to expand to surrounding towns in the near future.

To keep up to date on their pop-ups, find them here.