Island Bound’s New Owners Aim to Keep Tourists, Residents Well-Read

On December 1, sisters Susan Bush and Laura Parsons purchased Island Bound Bookstore on Block Island, a popular summer tourist destination off the coast of Rhode Island, from store founder Cindy Lasser.

Susan Bush and Laura Parsons

Bush, a full-time resident of the island for the past decade, is the owner of Albany Records, which produces “uncommonly classical” music by American composers; she was previously the manager of the Albany, New York, symphony. Parsons, who owns a home on Block Island, is a child psychologist.

This is the sisters’ first venture into the book industry, but Bush plans to apply her extensive experience in the music business to the store’s operations. “I know about managing inventory and I know about running a company,” she said. “If loving to read books and being big consumers of books is any advantage, then both my sister and I are at the top of the heap on that.

“Both of us love books and this just seemed like a natural way to indulge our passion. We thought this would be a long-term solution for not just something to do, but something fun to do and for a paycheck.”

Bush and Parsons had been considering purchasing the store since it went up for sale in February 2016. “There were a lot of people who desperately wanted the community to still have a bookstore. It would be devastating not to have a bookstore here,” said Bush. “Some people toyed with the idea of buying the store and, for one reason or another, it was not the right place or the right time in their life. We decided that this was the right time and the right place to go for it.”

Later this month, Bush will be attending Winter Institute 12 and will participate in the Paz & Associates Introduction to Retail Bookselling workshop ahead of the event. “I’ve got a steep learning curve, so I’ve had to jump in with both feet,” she said. Bush is also working with Paz & Associates on a facelift for the store.

Cindy Lasser founded Island Bound Bookstore in 1995 in a 300-square-foot space under the National Hotel. In 1997, she moved the store to a location triple that size near the island’s post office. The store carries New York Times bestsellers, fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books, as well as a robust section featuring titles about Block Island and island-related activities.

Under Lasser’s ownership, the store became known as the go-to spot for recreational art classes, a tradition Bush will continue, starting with a class on January 11. The island is home to many artists who facilitate the classes, said Bush, and the store sells a variety of art products and supplies for people who want to pursue the hobby at home.

Block Island’s avid reading community is also served by an excellent library, she added, and many teachers in the school district strongly encourage students to read. In addition, there are at least three book clubs on the island, each catering to a different interest. “It’s a fairly educated and cultured population that’s here in the summertime, and in the wintertime there are things to do that are intellectually interesting as well,” said Bush.

In the summer, the island welcomes 15,000 to 20,000 visitors daily, so the store is open for long hours; however, come winter, when the population goes down to 1,000 full-time residents, just a handful of businesses remain open and the bookstore is on a limited schedule. “A lot of people think that’s a challenge, but there are those of us who really like the quiet and the peace that you get in the wintertime,” said Bush.

The store’s island location does not impact inventory or special orders, unless a significant storm causes ferry service to be canceled, Bush added, nor is it a hindrance to hosting author events. Over the years, Island Bound has hosted notable authors including Frank McCourt, Erik Larson, Linda Greenlaw, and Walter Cronkite. Bush said she has plans to explore ideas for new store events to cater to both tourists and year-round Block Island residents.

In December, just after Bush and Parsons took the reins, the store hosted an event on the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor that proved to be quite popular. Island Bound displayed both classic and new books on the topic, featured a discussion with a local veteran of the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, and played President Franklin Roosevelt’s Infamy Speech, which he delivered to a Joint Session of Congress the morning after Japan’s attack on the U.S. naval base.

“The people who came were kids when Pearl Harbor happened, and they talked about what it was like living on the island when they heard the news,” said Bush. “It was a rather touching, bittersweet kind of evening. I would like to do more of that kind of thing.”