Aurora Books in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, is six months old next week, and wow, it’s been delightful in ways I never expected. Some people think I’m pursuing my life’s dream. Actually, I never dreamed of being in retail. But I love books and San Miguel needed a place to buy new English language books (like Tunisia and Vietnam!). I hoped opening a bookstore would be a way of serving my new community.

Well! It turns out the community is serving the bookstore. Here are a few of gifts San Miguel has given Aurora Books (with suggested reading 🙂 ):

18 volunteers — I didn’t recruit any of them. They all offered. Here’s a book we have about working in a bookstore.

       

A book club — We get a lot of requests for a book club. As if by magic, Eva recently walked into the store and offered to help manage one. More on this soon! Here’s a book we have about reading books.

   

Chocolate –  Joseph (we carry two books he wrote!) and Jeannie (she was our first customer!) make sure we don’t go hungry. Here’s a book we have about chocolate — in Spanish even.

       

Perfect furniture — The shelves and the antique library table are courtesy of Susan (we carry two books she wrote!). Miguel at La Bodega had three chairs that are comfortable and easy to move around. Here’s a book we have about furniture.

Great neighbors — The other businesses in our little Hacienda — including La Conexion, La Bodega, Hierba Santa, and Yellow Boutique — are friends. Here’s a book we have about a neighborhood bookstore with a ghost (ours is Mary Marsh, who owned Tecolote, San Miguel’s English language bookstore until 2012).

Dog friends —  Our canine customers don’t buy many books, but we get dog-love every day. Here’s a book we have about a dog.

 Richie Junior — Our landlord, an orange cat, checks in every day to make sure everything is in order. And it usually is except when he climbs on the bookshelves. Here’s a book we have with a talking cat.

The best customers. Sometimes we don’t have the books they want. Some days the store is too hot or too cold. We don’t have a couch or a coffee bar. But customers don’t care. They talk about how much they love the books and how much they love having a bookstore in town. Their happiness makes us happy. Here’s a book we have about the power of reading.

So thank you San Miguel! And Felices Fiestas!

(In case you want to visit, Aurora Books is at Calzada de La Aurora 48A. Open Tuesday-Saturday 10-5.)