Like a good book, the only name Stephanie DiSanto ever wrote down to call her lifelong dream stuck with her for years.
The 27-year-old who recently moved to Wading River hopes to crack open her forthcoming shop, The Little Nook Bookstore, in The Shoppes at East Wind this coming January.
“I feel like I’ve always loved reading nooks in houses,” DiSanto said. “I went to a friend’s house when I was younger and she had a little reading nook in her room and that always stuck with me I guess.”
The forthcoming store will carry an assortment of titles for adults and children which they are welcomed to read in her store.
“It’s going to be a cozy, small, local shop,” she said. “It’s going to be set up like a big living room, there’ll be an area rug, two chairs … When it gets warmer out, we’re going to have a little setup outside our door if people want to sit out there. We’re gonna have a coffee machine so people can have the whole bookstore experience.”
DiSanto described herself as a lifelong book lover, who, when pressed to answer one of life’s toughest questions, “what is your favorite book?” pointed to the young adult romance series “After” by Anna Todd.
“They made it into movies on Netflix, but the books are a million times better,” she said.
In recent years, DiSanto said she has gravitated towards romance novels for adults. But lately, carving out time to cozy up with a good book has been difficult, as she cares for her 2-year-old son, Lucas Daly. While she is part of a book club with her friends, she is currently behind on their current read: “Fourth Wing” a new fantasy novel by Rebecca Yarros.
Like a great fantasy, the shop will offer DiSanto an escape, one on which young Lucas is more than welcome to tag along.
“Eventually I want to expand to a bookshop cafe, but for now this will get me out of the house and get things going,” she explained. “I knew I wanted to be close to home cause I love it out here, where all the farms are, the small town feel … The East Winds shop fell into my lap, it was perfect because I knew my son could come with me, there’s no cars passing through in there, there’s the carousel, it’s safe.”
In the digital age when readers can either read e-books or purchase titles with a few clicks, DiSanto believes both avid readers and patrons of local, independent businesses still desire stores like the one she will soon open.
“A lot of people want to support local businesses nowadays,” she said. “There aren’t many small town bookshops and I feel people want to tap into cozy, little places. If I’m on vacation, that’s one thing I’m looking for. Avid book readers want that.”
