Housed in a 1962 Volkswagen pickup truck, The Cincy Book Bus is a bookstore on wheels. It parks inside the Book Bus Depot on Reading Road in Cincinnati when it’s not out and about, says owner Melanie Moore, who sells hand-curated books from the bus. The profits from book purchases go toward purchasing children’s books for area low-income schools and organizations.
How did you get the idea to start the Book Bus?
After 25 years of teaching in various inner-city schools across the country, I decided to reroute my career. The Book Bus was inspired by a book! Not sure how to move forward with my desire to open a bookstore, I read Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley about a traveling bookshop. While sipping a cup of tea, I looked out my kitchen window and saw my husband’s 1962 VW truck parked in the driveway. At that moment, The Book Bus was born! The mobile bookstore quickly started making a profit and I guess the teacher side of me wasn’t finished yet. I decided to take 100% of the profits from the store to buy new children’s books to donate to local schools and organizations.
Do you sell new or used books?
We sell both new and used books. We also offer “Book Bus Exclusives.” These are books that I bring over from Europe that are not available locally.
Can you tell us about your regular and seasonal events?
Every week, we offer a children’s story time at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays. On the first Saturday of the month, we offer a free yoga class called Poses Among Pages. We also host a Silent Book Club on the second Tuesday of every month, and an in-person book club every third Thursday. A special feature every month is our online book club, where folks receive a book in the mail along with a matching handcrafted bookmark, a tea, access to a private Facebook group and the opportunity to meet the author in a Zoom. It’s available to anyone in the United States.
Do people need to visit your truck or the depot to purchase books?
You can purchase books online through our website, cincybookbus.com , or visit The Book Bus Depot at 10936 Reading Road in Cincinnati. We also accept monetary donations. We are an official 501c3, so all donations are tax deductible. You can also stay current with us on Facebook and Instagram @cincybookbus.
