Sara Davidson’s Dream of Opening a Bookstore Couldn’t Be Stopped, Not Even by a Pandemic
An Interview with the owner of “Picture Book” in Dobbs Ferry, New York
There’s one thing that always seems to go by the wayside as we navigate the pressures of adulthood, start families, “settle down” or whatever. I’m speaking about our dreams, of course.
We all have them when we’re younger. Some aren’t exactly realistic, but we revel in our imaginations. Then, responsibilities take over — caring for kids and pets and bills, and by the time we reach the end of the day our only dreams are the ones that break through our much-needed slumber.
But if you read enough books, watch enough films, live long enough, you realize true dreams have a way of making their way back to you in their own time. They take on a life of their own and show you what you are supposed to do. This is what happened to my neighbor Sara Davidson, who I knew as a book lover before anything else.
Everyone in my little town by the Hudson River knew that if you needed a book recommendation, you asked Sara. So, it made sense when she opened her own indie bookstore called Picture Book a little over a year ago.
Well, maybe not total sense —because the world was in the grips of a pandemic. Below, Sara and I discuss her path to owning a bookstore and what she’s looking forward to reading this spring.
Sara, your bookstore is such a boon for our town — that I can attest to. But what in the world made you decide to set up shop during the pandemic?!
Opening a bookstore in the Rivertowns was a nagging dream I had for a while, and I had worked out a business plan and done lots of research by connecting with other booksellers, but it never seemed to be the right time to take the leap. The perfect puzzle that every family has to put together, containing each parent’s career and childcare, seemed too precious to disrupt. But having it all upended by the pandemic with remote school, furloughs, and remote work shook up our life enough to feel like it was worth risking. It might be now or never to realize my dreams and I didn’t want to waste more time doing work that didn’t feel like my true calling anymore. I made it official in August of 2020 and had my physical shop open for business in Dobbs Ferry in October 2020.
Sometimes a crisis is the best impetus to get us moving. Still, I imagine that running a bookstore is challenging, especially in our uncertain times — but do you feel like this venture fulfills something in you? Are you gratified by spreading some book love in the world?
Bookselling fulfills me personally and is my tiny contribution towards making the world a better place. The state of the world can be overwhelming and it is frustrating to feel so powerless against the broader issues and injustice. I decided I want to amplify what is good as a small act of resistance. To get to share excellent literature and art is a privilege and a joy. I hope to provide diverse books that can serve as either mirrors to reflect the readers’ own life, or windows into the lives of others. Honestly, many adults would benefit from the lessons in picture books. Books are tools for growing empathy, and they provide connection.
Can you talk a little about your former career in the art world? It’s so interesting that you were once a curator and now you curate books for your community.
My entire career before this was in the contemporary art world. I was a gallery director, worked in the contemporary art department of an auction house, and most recently was an editor for a publisher owned by an art gallery. I think I take some of the curator’s eye with me when selecting books, making careful decisions, and thinking about how the books speak to each other conceptually. In my display, both online and in-person, I lean more towards a gallery feel than a traditional overstuffed bookstore. Those are great too, but I wanted to offer something different and authentic to my own vision. The name Picture Book, a nod to the Kinks song, is about providing picture books for kids that are beautiful in both content and illustration, but also giving that same joy to adults finding their own “picture books” in art books, gorgeously photographed cookbooks, and great fiction that inspires them.
In the art world, I often felt that female artists and artists of color were not as well funded or promoted as they deserved, so it’s a thrill to just be able to make my book selections with a strong representation of diverse female artists and authors.
How else has running this bookstore changed your relationship with books? Have you had to expand what you read? Have you changed the way you “consume” books?
I do feel pressure to read more books than I normally did, but I don’t want to lose the joy of reading. One way I have upped is by adding audiobooks into the mix so I can continue to read while I exercise or run errands. Thankfully the company Libro.fm offers a platform for independent bookstores to sell audiobooks, and I love devouring their new releases each month. Audiobooks are not the soporific books-on-tape of my youth. They have high production value, celebrity narrators, and sometimes even full-cast narration. I highly recommend adding audio to your reading diet!
You have become such a supporter of local authors like myself (Picture Book hosted my Book Launch on March 3rd!) Who else has your shop connected you to? How does it feel to become more entwined with your community?
I’m very glad that I opened up my bookshop inside another business. I’m set up inside a gorgeous co-working space called HudCo, so I’m a part of a built-in community of people who are working remotely and the wellness providers and their clients who use the space. The spacious location allows me to host big events for authors, including your book launch. I also curate book selections for other shops including a coffee shop and a cute clothing boutique, and getting to work with these other women-owned businesses has been incredible. I love that all of this is about collaboration rather than competition and I think that is the future of small businesses.
What hopes do you have for your indie bookstore this coming year?
My goal for this year is to hold fast to the joy of undertaking my dream, and to continue to learn and grow.
Now, here’s a question I know you’ll enjoy answering: tell us what books you’re excited to get your hands on!
This is always my favorite question, but one I have difficulty narrowing down! This month I’m digging into To Paradise, Hanya Yanagihara’s first novel since A Little Life, which absolutely wrecked me. Coming up on my tbr list are The Books of Jacob by Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk and When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East by Quan Barry.
For kids, I’m excited about follow-up books to 2020 hits, Oona and the Shark by Kelly Dipucchio and illustrated by Raissa Figueroa and Out of a Jar by Deborah Marcero. This spring, I’m looking out for Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change by Angela Garbes, a new art book on Lorna Simpson is coming out from Phaidon, and the latest books from Emily St. John Mandel and Emma Straub.
Jessie Kanzer is the author of the newly released Don’t Just Sit There, DO NOTHING: Healing, Chilling, and Living with the Tao Te Ching. She was born in the Soviet Union. At the age of eight, she emigrated with her family to Brooklyn. A former reporter and actress, her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Daily News, Wall Street Journal, The Independent, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, USA Today, and Romper. Jessie lives with her two daughters and husband in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
