Midcoast bookstore on wheels gears up for debut
Photo / Provided
The Kinetic Bookstore, founded by Jill Conner in a 1963 Ford Econoline truck, will soon make its debut on Maine's midcoast.
Summer may be high season for food trucks, but how about a truck selling reading material?
Tha's the plan for the Kinetic Bookshop, which Jill Conner is getting ready to roll out. The 37-year-old said it will be a bookstore on wheels.
The first-time entrepreneur, who returned to Maine with her husband in 2022 after 16 years in Chicago and now lives in the Waldo County town of Belmont, works part-time at the Camden Public Library. With her new business, she aims to raise funds for local libraries.
"That's always been at the goal, but that's become more pertinent with funding cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Science," she said in a phone interview. “We’re hoping this can be an avenue to provide a little extra support for the libraries in midcoast Maine."
Conner’s store will be housed in a 1963 lime-green Ford Econoline truck named Gladys she bought in February 2023. Later that year as she was planning her business, she told Mainebiz that "books are a pathway to the world."
While the former paralegal had hoped to get her bookstore on wheels off the ground sooner, she said last week that “life got in the way for a while, but this summer seems to be the ‘it’ summer.”
The lifelong bibliophile plans to stock her open-bed vehicle with 150 to 200 books, 90% of which used to be hers and the rest donated by family and friends.
Curated offering
Asked whether she’ll be sad to part with her tomes, Conner said that she still has a lot of books and home and that it’s time inspire new readers for a worthy cause.
She plans to price her paperbacks at around $4 to $7, and hardcover books slightly higher. Books will be mainly for adults, in what Conner said will be a carefully curated offering to fit the limited space.
“I tried to really pick out and garner the best books — hidden gems and some very unique reads, as well as more popular titles,” she said.
The plan is to make the rounds on the midcoast this summer, but no more than 25 to 35 miles from where Conner lives since Gladys can't pip around super-fast.
Watching the weather
As long as the weather stays dry, the Kinetic Bookshop is scheduled to make its debut on June 12 at the Cheeky Food Truck Park in Belfast and then again on June 26, with a library donation jar at the ready.
While other appearances are planned, “if it rains, we will most likely have to cancel, because when you’re in the paper slinging business you can’t really be out when it’s wet,” Conner explained.
As she talks about “doing a rain dance to make sure the rain stays at bay,” Conner looks forward to taking Gladys out for her first spin.
“I will be with other food trucks, I just won’t be serving food,” she said.
More information
Keep up with the Kinetic Bookshop on Instagram at @thekineticbookshop or online at thekineticibookshop.com for upcoming events and book recommendations.
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