In childhood, career ambitions had little to do with money or practicality. Far from the blurred future of adulthood, dream jobs were driven purely by nascent interests, peculiar fixations, and big picture ideas of the life of an astronaut, a veterinarian, a chef, a dancer. Mariela Gavino fantasized about being the owner of a bookstore, and is one of those rare people who followed through.

Last month, Gavino held the grand opening for ILYSM (I Love You So Much) Books in Brookland Park, which she is proud to identify as a Filipino, LGBTQ+, and woman-owned bookstore. Although the shop carries new books, Gavino is committed to offering a wide variety of used books, both for their character and affordability. Currently, she says the store is about 80% used books, 20% new, both fiction and non-fiction.

“Everything in the world already exists, it’s just a matter of going out and finding it,” she says. “I can make that a little bit easier. Also, a lot of books are out of print now, or certain copies with special inscriptions are [no longer in print]. It’s so important to keep those things alive, [and] it’s more accessible; used books are cheaper.”

Prior to going brick-and-mortar, ILYSM Books began in 2022 as a pop-up that Gavino would haul throughout the city, vending at different holiday, vintage, and farmer’s markets. As a shopper, she noticed there were never any booths selling books and spotted a niche to fill. She focused exclusively on selling used books, believing that affordable, readily available reads would appeal to casual market browsers. She spent hours scouring thrift stores and Facebook Marketplace for good finds, excavating through mountains of dated diet books, memoirs, and self-help to curate a selection of unique titles in good condition. Within this mix, she added books from her own personal collection—Gavino says it was overflowing and she needed to free up space. Within a year, the pop-up shop’s popularity began to snowball, and markets began proactively reaching out to Gavino to ask for her attendance.

While Virginia, so far, has been shielded from some of the more extreme legislative upheavals affecting states to the south and west, access to information is under attack on a national level. Guardrails against misinformation are being dismantled and certain topics—from queer culture to critical race theory—are increasingly restricted by the Trump administration. In her own small way, Gavino hopes her store can be an access point for narratives that may not be accessible elsewhere, and she aims to carry a variety of titles from queer, BIPOC, and international authors.

“[Reading] makes you more aware of the things that are happening in the world; you learn about places and people that you might not get the same opportunity to learn about in school or in your environment in the same in-depth way,” she says. “It’s so important for people to have access to that. We need to keep physical media, because it’s something that can’t be taken away from you unless they pry it from your hands.”

In Brookland Park, a neighborhood already home to small businesses like Hand/Thrown Ceramics Studio and contemporary flower shop Field, ILYSM Books is joined by several other ventures that have either recently moved to the area or are soon to open, from Morty’s Market & Deli and Die By Fry to Julio’s Bagel Shop. The North Side neighborhood has been labeled “up and coming” for some time now, and while Gavino acknowledges the sense of unease that title might stir up among residents, she says she’s committed to making sure ILYSM Books is moving in alignment with their needs and concerns.

“It’s so important for people to have access [to books]. We need to keep physical media, because it’s something that can’t be taken away from you unless they pry it from your hands.”—Mariela Gavino

“I want to focus on listening to what people in this community need,” she says. “I understand how scary it can be when a lot of new businesses open in your neighborhood, which is what’s happening right now in Brookland Park.”

In addition to selling books like Dean Spade’s “Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next One)” and bell hooks’ “All About Love,” ILYSM Books is also building out a calendar of events, including author visits, poetry readings, live music events, and hosting book clubs. Throughout the process, her biggest goal is to have visitors tell her what they want to see next.

“I want it to be a space with different uses, rather than just a bookstore,” she says. “We want to serve everyone.”

ILYSM Books is located at 119 W. Brookland Park Blvd. It is closed Mondays but open every other day of the week from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.