Have you ever wandered into a bookstore and felt like you've come home? That's the magic Ariana Paliobagis, owner of Country Bookshop and her team, weaves in Bozeman, Montana. In this episode, I speak with store manager Jamie Winter about the rich literary landscape of Montana, where names like Ivan Doig and Betsy Gaines Quammen are as much a part of the territory as the Rocky Mountains.
Country Bookshelf is a local, independent bookstore located in historic downtown Bozeman, Montana. It’s the place where people go to feel part of their community, of something bigger than themselves, a place to experience the power of literature and conversation, a place to feel safe, not judged, and encouraged to explore ideas and identities. This is the bookstore everyone dreams of — two floors of hand-selected volumes, knowledgeable, caring staff, and events to expand horizons.
House of Flame and Shadow, Sarah J. Maas
Have you ever wandered into a bookstore and felt like you've come home? That's the magic Ariana Paliobagis, owner of Country Bookshop and her team, weaves in Bozeman, Montana. In this episode, I speak with store manager Jamie Winter about the rich literary landscape of Montana, where names like Ivan Doig and Betsy Gaines Quammen are as much a part of the territory as the Rocky Mountains.
Country Bookshelf is a local, independent bookstore located in historic downtown Bozeman, Montana. It’s the place where people go to feel part of their community, of something bigger than themselves, a place to experience the power of literature and conversation, a place to feel safe, not judged, and encouraged to explore ideas and identities. This is the bookstore everyone dreams of — two floors of hand-selected volumes, knowledgeable, caring staff, and events to expand horizons.
House of Flame and Shadow, Sarah J. Maas
Hi, my name is Mandy Jackson Beverly. Welcome to the Bookshop podcast. Each week, I present interviews with independent bookshop owners from around the globe, publishing professionals, authors and specialists in subjects dear to my heart the environment and social justice. To help the show reach more people, please share it with friends and family and on social media, and remember to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to this podcast. You're listening to episode 239. Country Bookshop is a local independent bookstore located in historic downtown Boseman, montana. It's the place where people go to feel part of their community, of something bigger than themselves, a place to experience the power of literature and conversation. A place to feel safe, not judged, and encouraged to explore ideas and identities. This is the bookstore everyone dreams of two floors of hand selected volumes, knowledgeable, caring staff and events to expand horizons. Jamie Winter is the store manager and is with us today. Hi, jamie, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you here.
Speaker 2:Thank you, it's so great to be here.
Speaker 1:I'm so excited. You are in a gorgeous part of the country I used to live in, Jackson Wyoming, which is equally just as beautiful as Montana. Is Boseman cold right now?
Speaker 2:It's unseasonably warm. We keep having some warmer spikes and then some very cold like negative 30.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's cold Lots of snow around?
Speaker 2:Yes, we do. We do have a little bit of snow. Luckily, all of the people visiting for the season are at least getting some of that now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good. Now let's begin with learning about you and how you landed at Country Bookshop in Boseman Montana.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I started working in bookstores back in October of 2016. I helped open the store, this house of books in Billings, montana, which is a member co-op. I got to be a part of that process of getting that store going. Then my fiance was accepted at the university here in Boseman. We moved. My timing was extremely fortunate and that Country Bookshop happened to be hiring. I got my application in and I impressed them enough that they hired me on about May 2017. Then I've been here off and on since, took a little break to go back to school for software engineering, did that for a little bit and just found it wasn't as fulfilling as being in a bookstore, because Country Bookshelf was definitely. It was home immediately once I started working there.
Speaker 2:I think I've thought about it like every place I've lived since every other job. It had always been in the back of my mind of how much I would love to come back. Then the owner, ariana, contacted me saying that they were looking to have a general manager of the store in a way that hadn't before and asked if I'd be interested. At the time I was like I just bought a house in Billings. That's just two hours away. We just bought it. I think I could move right now. I thought about it for months after like how sad I was that I didn't accept even apply for it. And so a couple months later they were still looking and so it's not my family, like I think this is what I really want to do, and he is the most supportive person ever. And so is like, okay, let's go.
Speaker 1:And so Applied and came back and last September I love that the bookshop pulled you back to bozeman. Can you tell us a little about the history of country bookshelf, the founder and owners over the years?
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. Country bookshelf was founded in 1957 by poly Wren, and then that was In a location still in downtown bozeman not our current location, but just a couple blocks away and she ended up selling it to Margaret Kirk a couple years later, and then she sold it to Mary Jane to santi in 1974. And Mary Jane is the one who moved it to our current downtown location, which is kind of our staple. Now everyone recognizes this spot and loves this spot, and in 2010, mary Jane sold it to our current owner area on a palliabagas, and it has always been women owned, women run, something that we feel pretty passionately about. We've been named the best bookstore in bozeman. For the last 10 years. We've been In the list of best bookstores for Martha Stewart at was obscure book riot, mental floss I can tell in your voice that you're really proud of the bookshop.
Speaker 1:Tell us a little about the actual bookshop. Is it too strong? One story, one story. How many square feet?
Speaker 2:it's two stories. The second story is more of a mezzanine kind of, and then we also have a bit of a basement that we use as our staff room.
Speaker 1:You're the first bookshop that has said they actually have a dedicated staff room. How fantastic.
Speaker 2:We yeah, we feel really passionate about making sure that we have a good space for our employees to relax, take a breath, and we actually, during the holidays, when it's so busy it's there's no time to do anything, and so we make sure that they have a really nice, comfortable space.
Speaker 1:And I'm sure they appreciate it. Okay, I'm looking at a map of Montana and I see you between three folks and living sin. What's the closest ski area to bozeman Near skiing, I believe is big sky. Okay, I see that on the map to. My husband and I and kids used to live in Jackson, wyoming, quite a few years ago now and I tell you there's nothing quite like the Rockies. They are just magnificent. It is so beautiful up in that area we just loved raising our children there. It was fantastic. Okay, I could talk about that whole area for days but I need to get back to talking books, would you say you sell more fiction than nonfiction, and what is your most popular genre?
Speaker 2:Honestly, I think it's about split 50 50 it's. If not, that it's very close. I think our highest selling section is still fiction, like the literature, but we also do a lot of nature and a lot of Montana, western kind of things as well.
Speaker 1:And with fiction. What would you say is your most popular genre?
Speaker 2:The most popular genre is. We categorize it as lit, so it's everything that's just not a specific genre, and so that's definitely the highest, and then behind that is science fiction, fantasy and mystery.
Speaker 1:And what about the demographic supposement? Would you call it a grain community? Are there a lot of young families, baby boomers, Gen Z years?
Speaker 2:We have a lot of, I'd say, young professionals, but honestly it is a little bit of everything. We do have a big student population with university and because we're already a relatively small town, they make up a good portion of it. But lots of young professionals, business people kind of thing.
Speaker 1:And with this demographic in mind, would you say you curate the bookstore more for the local community or do you also tend to the tourists coming into town?
Speaker 2:I'd say more locals. We do a fair amount of making sure that that Montana section really has a good variety to showcase us as best we can, but our local community is very passionate about our store frequent shoppers and so we definitely keep things that we know that they're going to love.
Speaker 1:One of the things I love about going into an independent bookshop is seeing the kids with their parents in the kids section. So can you tell me a little bit about your children's section please?
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Yeah, we do have a fairly big kids section as well. It's definitely up. There is one of our more popular areas and seeing the kids in every day is one of the best parts.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can relate. I just love it. I'd love to hear about some of the local Montana authors you carry in country bookshelf.
Speaker 2:I might be wrong in this, but I did hear at one point that Montana has more authors per capita than any other state, because I can't back that up, but I would absolutely believe it. Our quintessential Montana author, I would say, is Ivan Dweig. We sell a lot of him. He had a lot of research and representation after his death by Montana State University and so he's the one that, if I'm going to say one Montana author, I would say him. We also claim Norman McLean, thomas McWayne, james Welch as some of the bigger names. We also have a lot of really great people living here locally right now. Mark Sullivan is. We're prepping for an event with him pretty soon. We've got Craig Lancaster in Billings, who is up here a lot as well. There's so many it's hard to just pick one name. What about female authors? Oh yeah, definitely, definitely. Like I know, right now we're planning on an event with Elise Atchison, who is wonderful as well, and Betsy Qualman. Betsy Ginseng Qualman is another one that is very popular.
Speaker 1:I can see why so many authors want to live in the state of Montana. It's just gorgeous. Okay, let's talk about your booksellers, and let's begin with who has been there the longest.
Speaker 2:Longest is definitely our head buyer, anna. She has been here for 25 years and, yeah, her knowledge of the industry is absolutely unparalleled and I think she underestimates just how invaluable she is. I couldn't be here without her, for sure.
Speaker 1:Okay, now let's talk about genres. If I was a customer and I come into the bookshop and I'm looking for someone who knows a lot about crime, thriller books, who would you suggest I speak with?
Speaker 2:Actually one of our former booksellers, wendy, who is retired, but I still ask her constantly what's the mystery that you're reading? What should I have right now? She is by far the most knowledgeable mystery reader.
Speaker 1:Though she's kind of not really retired. Okay, what about children's books?
Speaker 2:Children's books were super lucky in that we have a former children's librarian from the public library who, since retiring, is working for us part-time, and so she gives us lots of really great suggestions. And then Christina is an aspiring children's librarian, so she is in school for it right now, and she helps us curate and organize our children's section, along with school book fairs.
Speaker 1:How about graphic novels and YA?
Speaker 2:Graphic novels would probably be either Matt or Francis. Both have different tastes in graphic novels, so it balances out really nicely. Young adults probably me at this point.
Speaker 1:Yeah, bookshop managers normally dip their toe into a lot of genres.
Speaker 2:Our past events coordinator really coordinated our young adult section and made in what it is and since then we're still feeling like it Okay and how about nonfiction?
Speaker 2:Nonfiction, it depends on the genre. For going nature, I would say Maya, who is also a field guide. She leads some trips in the area, and so I think we definitely have a good recommendation there. For history, peter is one of our newest booksellers but I think that he could give a good history for pretty much any era of time. And sci-fi fantasy oh, sci-fi fantasy. Actually there's a lot of people. Our store is pretty heavy in sci-fi fantasy readers, I think. But there's Nell is our events coordinator and I would probably ask them just for similar taste to my own. But everyone on staff at that could have a good sci-fi or fantasy recommendation.
Speaker 1:I think sci-fi and fantasy found a lot more readers during the lockdowns and the beginning part of the pandemic. Many people just wanted to escape reality, but for others some of the sci-fi was a little too close to reality, I think. Do you have a favorite fantasy author?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, my favorite is Shonan McGuire, for sure. She wrote the Every Harder Doorway, the Wait for Children series, and I am obsessed with her. Everyone here knows I am, and so they like to tease me about it. I'm just like oh, who's your favorite author?
Speaker 1:Like you already know, yeah, and do you have any romance reader booksellers in the store? Just me.
Speaker 2:I'm the only one that really reads romance. It's become my genre, though I didn't mean for it to be, but it's, I think, sci-fi fantasy. It's very escapist, you know it's going to have a happy ending and sometimes that's what you need.
Speaker 1:Yes, I agree, and what better way to escape than with a happy ending, I know. Okay, now for our listeners contemplating a visit to Boseman, can you recommend a few hiking trails, must-see historic sites, vegan restaurants and where to get a great latte? See, that's all I need. You can tell what makes me happy.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. I did have to ask staff to give me some suggestions when I saw this question, but they gave me some great ones, so let's see. For hikes, they suggested Pete's Hill if you're looking for a short jaunt or drinking horse, for a beautiful short morning or afternoon hike. Also, the Galligator up by the Sculpture Garden through Lindley Park and the library is really beautiful. It's a nice, just kind of, I'd say, sunday stroll of Very relaxing. Also, highlight Canyon is beautiful, even just for a drive, if not for hikes, I love it for my favorite drive of all time, and Grotto Falls would be a good hike in that area as well.
Speaker 2:For coffee, we have a lot of really great options for coffee. I'm not going to lie. Some of staff favorites are the Daily Studio Coffee or a newer one called Rolly Polly. We also have a coffee shop that's two doors down from our bookstore called Wild Joes, and we frequent there as a store pretty often, at least once a month. We get everybody coffee from there. I also personally love tree-lined coffee.
Speaker 2:And then let's see Other things to do. Museum of the Rockies 100% is amazing. It has a really great paleontology exhibit that is extensive. There's so many fossils that have been found in Montana. So it's really lovely if you have any interest in dinosaurs, and they also have various exhibits that they change out that are really wonderful, so suggested. Our Tuesday Farmers Market is really lovely. We have some fantastic farms that are local to us and the produce is amazing. And then we have really great variety of live shows, whether it's music we've got a really refreshing drag scene and burlesque and also comedy. We have a bookseller that participates in improv every week, and so we gather quite a bit, but Last Best Comedy is also really awesome. Then vegan restaurants. There is Pekiza, which is an Indian restaurant that has gluten-free, vegan and nut-free options, little Star for a great vegan dinner and Nova Cafe for breakfast.
Speaker 1:Now you've made me hungry. I'm starting to salivate from the thought of all that good food. When our sons were little, I always wanted to take them to Montana to partake in a dinosaur dig. I thought that would have been really fun. Jamie, what do you enjoy most about living in Bozeman?
Speaker 2:Really the view Anywhere you drive in Bozeman, which is, of course, you can get everywhere within 15 minutes, which is lovely, but no matter where you go, and you've got a view of the mountains, and nothing will ever top that of driving to work. You're on your daily commute, but it's still breathtaking every single day. And then the people Montana, especially just as a state has some really lovely, passionate people that I don't think you can really get anywhere else, and Bozeman definitely embodies that as well, and so our locals that are in all the time are just the loveliest people, and it makes working here wonderful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're definitely in a beautiful, beautiful part of the world. Okay, let's talk books. What are you currently reading?
Speaker 2:I just finished the new Sarah J Moss House of Flame and Shadow. I am one of those people, and now I am about to start Stuart Turton's new book that comes out in, I believe, may, which is the last murder at the end of the world.
Speaker 1:I read an article about Sarah J Moss in the newspaper the other day and the article was saying that her fans are diehard fans. They are intense, right. I guess you're one of them.
Speaker 2:They really are. I wouldn't count myself as one of the really intense ones, but I do love her books as just being very escapist, very fun, and it's really perfect when there's so much going on with work and everything. I just want to have a good time, so I pick up one of hers.
Speaker 1:Did you celebrate the release of her latest book in the bookshop?
Speaker 2:We didn't do any events or anything. We did get a bunch of the special editions for indie bookstores, though, and so I was very excited about those.
Speaker 1:And speaking of bookshops, how many indie bookshops do you have in Bozeman?
Speaker 2:We have a couple. We are the only. That is fully new for independent bookstores, but there are also, I believe, two used bookstores, as well, jamie.
Speaker 1:thanks for chatting with me today. I've enjoyed it. It's been wonderful hearing all about beautiful Bozeman, montana and Country Bookshelf.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you, that was really. It was fun. It was lovely meeting you.
Speaker 1:You've been listening to my conversation with Jamie Winter, manager of Country Bookshelf in Bozeman, montana, to find out more about the Bookshop podcast. Go to thebookshoppodcastcom and make sure to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to the show. You can also follow me at Mandy Jackson Beverly on X, instagram and Facebook and on YouTube at the Bookshop podcast. If you have a favorite indie bookshop that you'd like to suggest we have on the podcast, I'd love to hear from you via the contact form at thebookshoppodcastcom. The Bookshop podcast is written and produced by me, mandy Jackson Beverly, Theme music provided by Brian Beverly, executive assistant to Mandy, adrienne Otterhan and graphic design by Francis Verralla. Thanks for listening and I'll see you next time.