Valley book club brings ‘Bookish Night Market’ to downtown Phoenix

PHOENIX — Readers, are you ready to deck the shelves?

The holidays are coming up fast, and if you are ready to buy for the bookworms in your life, check out Valley-based Not Your Average Book Club’s first-ever “Bookish Night Market” on Thursday, Nov. 13.

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Founder of NYABC, Kyra Coombs, started the book club two years ago after making a New Year’s resolution to get out and make new friends.

“After getting married, having my son, I felt like I kind of had an identity crisis, as far as like, what are my hobbies? How do I meet new friends?” Coombs said.

As a lifelong reader, Coombs decided to find a book club. But instead of joining someone else’s, she ended up starting her own.

“It ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because I still get to see that group of women every month, and it’s two years later,” Coombs said.

At first, she wasn’t sure the club would turn out to be more than a few people. But the very first meeting, where she invited virtual strangers to her home to talk about books, she found out: the Valley is full of readers looking for community.

“They’re just wanting ways to get out there and meet other book lovers,” Coombs said. “Yes, we want to be at home with our blanket and reading, but I think we also want to get out and meet other book friends and get book recommendations.”

Since then, Coombs has hosted retreats, monthly book club meetups, book crawls, and more. Her next endeavor? The Bookish Night Market.

The market will be held on Thursday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Duce in Phoenix. 

Now, this isn’t your typical market, Coombs said. It’s not an in and out, buy what you need and leave situation. Coombs said she hopes readers stroll through, enjoy the food and drinks, and maybe even meet their new favorite local author or vendor along the way.

“Not only can you find a new book and meet an amazing author, but you can have them sign it, learn more about them,” Coombs said. “We’ve got well over 35 local authors now, which is beyond my wildest dreams, and they’re incredible.”

There will be local authors, as well as bookish vendors and merchants at the market, and Coombs said even though this market isn’t over yet, she’s already looking forward to planning another one.

If you have questions about the market or want to learn more, head to NYABC’s social media pages.

For more book and literacy stories, check out “Reading Arizona” on YouTube and 12News.com. If you have a story pitch for Reading Arizona, email [email protected] or reach out via Instagram, @thatjournalistwhoreads. 

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