In December 2020, I purchased an estate library for myself for my birthday after I felt called to respond to a marketplace ad for a large volume of books for sale.  Having been a preserver of books for many years, the experience of being in possession of a collection that someone else had built for themselves, much like I am doing, was deeply personal, humbling and sentimental. After going through nearly 1,300 books one at a time, I kept those that I wanted and created a list of those that would be well-loved in other homes. I ran an ad online for "A dollar a book." The response was unexpected and overwhelming. I spent the next two months meeting up with people who wanted them. In a short time, buyers began to bring me their own books to add to the list in hopes they'd find new homes as well. Other buyers began requesting specific books, and the list grew to more than a dozen pages of an excel spreadsheet.  I spent two months moving books around and doing meetups until the inventory of books being donated or traded, and those I was buying to meet specific requests, outgrew my home. In March 2021, I leased a small space in downtown Cuyahoga Falls with the intention of using it as storage and having the meetups there instead of parks and grocery store parking lots. It occurred to me that the only difference between that and becoming an actual bookstore was opening to the public. After the stories people shared with me in those meetups, I took a chance that I could reach more book lovers of all ages with varied interests while redistributing books in an accessible and affordable way. Shelf Life opened for business in June 2021. It's a small bookstore with a big mission to bridge the gap between accessibility and affordability while providing an inclusive space for everyone. 

That's not the end of the story. 
It’s just the beginning,
and I sincerely hope
you become a part of it.
I have books for you here.