Bonding Through Books

By Phoebe Herbert

Floor to ceiling, shelves are lined with books, graphic novels, and board games. Near the back of the shop, a room is filled with glass cases displaying action figures of all kinds. Customers walk along the shelves flipping through comic books while a young boy looks for a ninja turtle to buy. This is Austin Books and Comics, the place for graphic novels in the capital city, and it draws all sorts of people who love geek and nerd culture. Customers and employees connect through these shared interests explains Micheal Reyes, an assistant manager at Austin Books and Comics.

“Everybody gets to read and dive into their fandoms,” Reyes said, “And then share that with different customers here and introduce people to new comics, new books, things like that.”

Local bookstores have always had special communities of people