What is this?

Hi! Welcome to Book 'em! My name is Ali and I'm a musician interested in books because I hope to someday open a bookstore that doubles as a performance venue.

I'm currently a senior at the University of Northern Iowa studying performing arts management and marketing. I chose to study this because I've always loved music and singing; I've been singing since I was a kid and truly haven't stopped since then. It's always been something that I've enjoyed, but never really something I wanted to do for a living until I found performing arts management. Rather than be in the spotlight, I get to shine the spotlight on others, but I still get the luxury of enjoying the music and being a part of the industry.

Once I got to college, I knew that my endgame was to run a performance venue, but along the way, the idea of a bookstore came to fruition. I've always loved to read, from my very first book I ever read (My Messy Room by Mary Packard) to my obsession with The Magic Treehouse series (which peaked in second grade with Tonight on the Titanic, obviously) to, of course, Harry Potter (I hear Hufflepuff is going to put up a real fight for the House Cup this year).

via GIPHY

I love to consume books, and have been known to binge when something's really that good (most recently it was We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson), and even more so, I love to share books and music with others.

Seriously, read this! I couldn't put it down
Photo from Goodreads

It wasn't until this summer when my hometown finally got our first bookstore that I even considered it as a possibility, but I quickly came to realize that it would be something I would just fully enjoy. During the day, it could be a meeting place for children and adults alike to read, converse, and maybe even drink coffee, but in the evenings, I could have live shows featuring performers I love and maybe even having an emphasis on local artists. In doing this, I could combine two of my loves: good books and quality music.

So that's what brings me here today. This will be a place where I share what I'm enjoying, what I think you might like, and maybe even get a glimpse into what it's like to put on a show or get some insight from local artists.

In short, I want to share what to Book from authors to artists, and I hope you'll come along with me.

If you want to easily keep up, you can also follow me on Twitter and Goodreads