Like a book, an independent bookstore can be a spiritual oasis in a chaotic world. It probably says something about our world, then, that three indie bookstores sprouted up in central Iowa over the past 18 months.
From pushing back against book bans and COVID-era malaise to capitalizing on online reading trends, Shelf Love DSM, The Little Book and Nos share a desire to cut through the noise and connect with area readers.
“Nos Books has been an idea that I have considered for a very long time,” said owner Luis Luján. “I have always been an avid reader and lover of literature. What got me down this path was the book bannings and the culture wars spilling over from the first Trump presidency combined with COVID.”
Luján said he asked himself, “Is there something I can be doing that would make me happier or make my community better?” Nos Books, which opened this April in the Drake neighborhood, was the result.
“I credit two people for helping me: my wife for her support and serving as the bookkeeper, and the bookseller community,” Luján said. “Before I sold my first book and did my initial pop-up store, these booksellers were extremely generous with their knowledge and guidance and have been really big supporters of mine.”
Luján’s mission is to promote authors of color and books for the general public that might fly under the radar; “This isn’t what I do exclusively, but it’s what I focus on.” His store opened with a notable guest, Iowa’s Poet Laureate Vince Gotera.
Being part of an indie bookstore ecosystem has been exciting for Luján.
“One of the things I enjoy the most about the customers who come to my store is how they love to go to the different independent bookstores,” he said, “and seeing how our own personalities, from the décor to the curation, make them so individual.”
Bethany Fast staked out a destination-worthy corner of the revitalized Oak Park-Highland Park District on Des Moines’ far north side for her business, The Little Book. It’s the kind of cozy book nook that resides in one’s imagination.
“When we were developing this space, we really wanted to create something unique,” Fast said. “Des Moines has such a strong independent bookstore game. We wanted to find an area that felt like it could use a bookstore, that it wouldn’t be adding unnecessary competition to the other wildly successful stores in the area, and that it would add value to the neighborhood.”
Fast’s journey to opening her dream store was not conventional.
“I was a licensed funeral director in 2020. With COVID, I saw more action than many rural funeral directors see in their entire career,” she explained. “I just wanted to get out and find something joyful, where I saw the sun during the day, I saw my kids on the weekends. I met a friend who ran a successful bookstore at a conference. I had known her when I lived in the Pacific Northwest. She told me, ‘Now, don’t you want to do this?’ That’s when I realized that I did.”
Of course, Fast was going to do it her way.
“We wanted something that was family-centric, where people could bring their kids and not feel like it’s a place where they have to hush their kids,” she said. “[It would be] a place where everyone belonged, everybody could find something for them. That’s what we based the store on, from the layout to the aesthetics to what we stock on the shelves. A lot of love went into the space.”
Since The Little Book opened in February 2024, Fast and her partner and co-owner David have reinforced their commitment to inclusivity by speaking out against book bans and anti-LGBTQ legislation in Iowa, hosting bilingual storytimes and fundraisers for trans mutual aid, and deciding not to promote Harry Potter books or their fan fiction adaptations because of J.K. Rowling’s transphobia.
“‘Find the little joys’ is our catch phrase,” Fast said. “We feel it’s important that queer families can come in and not only feel safe, but feel celebrated. They can see themselves on the shelf.”
Romance-centric bookstore Shelf Love DSM, meanwhile, helps readers of all stripes find both little joys and little deaths.
“We opened to be a fun space for romance readers to feel comfortable for something that’s been looked down upon for so long,” Shelf Love visionary Sarah Gardner-Bergan said.
The romance genre has always attracted rabid readers, but the rise of BookTok and Bookstagram have created such online fervor for swoon-worthy stories that they’ve spawned in-person events and businesses. Like Marion’s Happily Ever After Bookstore, which debuted in eastern Iowa in 2023, Shelf Love DSM caters solely to fans of romance and its many subgenres.
“Our customers love being able to find their favorite books and authors, but also be able to find new ones they haven’t heard of,” Gardner-Bergan said. “We focus on indie authors and uplifting voices that you won’t find in a traditional bookstore. Beyond inventory, what typically attracts people to my store is being in a fun and inviting space to read and enjoy romance.”
She encourages readers to be adventurers and explore the greatly expanded new realms of the genre. With a mischievous gleam in her eyes, she spilled a secret. “We are planning a cowboy romance convention — the next big subgenre.”
Shelf Love is also planning to host a variety of book clubs starting in the fall, as well as community events like signings, book swaps and more.
“I just knew that there was a need for this here, and I just went for it,” Gardner-Bergan said. “I figured if it wasn’t me, somebody else was going to do it.”
This article was originally published in Little Village’s September 2025 issue.
