Hearthside Books and Toys among 20 contenders in online vote for 10 best independent bookstores in US
Published 9:30 pm Monday, May 26, 2025
Hearthside Books and Toys is among 20 nominees for USA Today’s 10 best independent bookstores in the U.S. as determined by online voters in the newspaper’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards.
The Juneau store was ranked 13th as of last Wednesday, according to a social media post, but as of Tuesday “current rankings are unavailable during the final days of voting,” according to USA Today’s website for the contest. Voting ends at 8 a.m. Monday, June 2.
“What really got me excited about it was when I saw the other nominees,” Olga Lijo Serans, Hearthside’s owner since 2022, said in an interview Monday at her Nugget Mall store. “You have the Strand Book Store (in New York City) there, which is famous. You have City Lights from San Francisco. You have Parnassus Books (opened in Nashville, Tennessee, by novelist Ann Patchett).”
People can vote once per day during the 28-day online competition. Serans acknowledged her store in a town of about 30,000 residents is facing a tough challenge against cities like New York City and others with millions of residents.
“I don’t expect to be number one because who can compete with Ann Patchett’s bookstore (Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee)?” she said. “But just being in that top 10 list that will be there is a big win for a place like Juneau. I think as a community we are all very proud of having been able to maintain a continuously working bookshop for 50 years.”
Juneau does have one advantage compared to some other competitors thanks to the vast number of cruise ship passengers arriving during the four-week period, plenty of whom stop by the downtown store in Merchants Wharf, Serans said.
“They love seeing a real independent bookstore with a real personality, so they are more than happy to vote for a place like that because there are many communities nowadays that don’t have an independent bookstore anymore, which is very sad,” she said.
USA Today’s website states the publication “tasked a panel of bibliophiles with nominating the best shops throughout the country.” Serans said she found out about the content from USA Today officials a few months ago when they were seeking store details and photos, but didn’t know it would be part of the voting until a few weeks ago.
Since the contest began Hearthside has been promoting it on its social media sites and at the two stores. Serans said she and her family also started voting early and often (within the legal once-per-day limit).
“I’m pretty sure that a lot of people in my large family are doing their best to to push my dream,” she said.
As for checking the results — until they were taken offline — “I try to keep myself to once a day,” Serans said.
USA Today’s contest description for Hearthside states the store “has been a community mainstay since 1975.”
“With two locations and a large selection of books in every genre, Hearthside Books and Toys has something for every book lover,” the website states. “The store is committed to the local community, and regularly highlights Alaska-based authors, hosting a First Friday monthly series that features local poets and writers. Hearthside has a long history of philanthropy and collects more than 1,000 books annually for the African Library Project, an organization that builds community libraries across underserved communities in Africa.”
Serans said being involved in more community activities is one of the changes she’s tried to make since purchasing Hearthside.
“I think it’s important to give the people that are here, that are doing interesting stuff, that are doing creative stuff to know that we are here for them too, and hopefully that will help everybody thrive a little bit more,” she said.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
