For just over five months, Mebane resident Taylor Collier has worked to create an inclusive space and community for book lovers inside a small corner in Sweet Grace Market in Mebane. Her new bookstore, No Bad Books, has been open since September selling a variety of books alongside hosting events like book clubs and book release parties.
For Collier, owning the bookstore has brought a surge of new life. She treated cancer patients for more than 15 years before taking time off when she had her second child, Jolie. Jolie was born with a birth defect known as spina bifida. According to the Mayo Clinic, spina bifida is a condition that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don’t form correctly. Because of this, Jolie uses a walker.
Collier quit her job to become a full-time caregiver for her daughter, and she said she lost her identity. Without work, reading became an important part of her life. Collier, a former book blogger for publishing houses, said opening a bookstore was always something she wanted to do, so she decided to take on the project to find a renewed purpose.
“It’s always been my dream to have a bookstore and just share this love of books and reading with other people, specifically, moms, who have kind of lost themselves, and they’re trying to find themselves again, and then they find books, and it opens up a whole new world,” Collier said.
Alongside selling books, Collier has started a monthly book club inside the bookstore. Collier said that she feels like she has helped build a community in Mebane.
“I’ve met so many more people just having the book club, and people messaging me and reaching out and saying, ‘I’m so glad that you did this, Mebane needs this, and I’m so appreciative,” Collier said.
Collier said the book club is an outlet and something to look forward to for many local moms. For Lindsey House, a stay-at-home mom of three young children, it is a way for her to make connections outside her home life.
“I have three young kids and don’t get out a whole lot,” House said. “It’s just been really nice to have something to get out and go do with other people that’s not kid related.”
House said that Collier has provided an outlet for her and other book club members to escape and develop friendships.
“She’s just creating that third space,” House said. “Everyone needs somewhere you can go outside of your house, where you feel like you can make connections and be with other people.”
Collier said she also wants to attract non-readers and create an inviting environment for them to come in and start reading.
Collier sells mostly women’s fiction, romance and fantasy, but a big priority in starting No Bad Books was putting an emphasis on inclusive books. She said that her daughter is the only person in her class with a disability, so Collier wants to push inclusive books in her bookstore. One such example is a children’s book that lies on the shelves of No Bad Books, which is about a girl who uses a walker.
“If we’re going to build a better world and create a more accepting world for our children and people who look different than everybody else, I think it starts with kids,” Collier said. “I think that showing them these books and reading them to their kids, they see it in a book, and then it’s not as crazy when they see a kid in the park using a walker.”
She said that anytime she sells an inclusive book, it makes her happy.
“It’s just one step closer to raising a generation of educated and kind, empathetic people, and that’s just so important to me,” Collier said. “I want my daughter to live in a world where people don’t look at her and see her walker. They see a smart little girl who has a funny personality.”
Collier said she wants to keep growing to the point where she can have her own space. She also wants to be able to host authors and book signings. For now, she said she will be patient, growing and nurturing the community she’s creating.
“I’ve lived here for almost 10 years, and I really want to see Mebane grow. We deserve nice, fun things here, and I want to give that. And it’s been very rewarding seeing people come in and be like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so cute. I had no idea this was here,”’ Collier said. “Maybe I will have enough of support down here that I can open up my own shop. That’s my dream.”
