Hastings youth mental health worker, Sarah Wren has a side hustle she absolutely loves. Her customers love it too. Under her Little Read Book Co. banner, Sarah runs a stall at local craft markets called ‘Blind Date with a Book’. This concept began at Elizabeth’s Bookshop in Newtown, NSW in 2012. Ten years later, Sarah took up the idea putting her own spin on it.
While Elizabeth’s Bookshop sells new blind date books, Sarah intentionally chooses to sell high quality used books, giving them a spruik and a new life. “I’m very thorough in my quality control. The book has to be appropriate for gifting. I try to steer clear of popular titles and well-known authors so that people don’t end up with a book they may have already read,” she says. Sarah also wants readers to step out of their comfort zone to try something they never thought they’d choose.
“Diversity is important to me because I grew up in a tiny town without it,” she says. Sarah lived in Adelaide until she was ten. Then her family moved to a small town in country Victoria where Sarah spent her formative years. These were not happy years. As an outsider in her school of 200 students, she was often bullied. Her parents divorced and she felt the pressure of being the oldest daughter. Sarah escaped into books. Books have been a lifelong diversion. In primary school, Sarah was always reading. She remembers being devastated that she couldn’t change her school reader when she was stuck at home sick. A very imaginative child, Sarah liked to escape into unlikely fictional stories, such as fantasy.
Nowadays, Sarah likes to read non-fiction memoir, biography and realistic fiction.
She’s also writing a book honouring the life of her best friend who struggled with a rare psychological condition and took her own life in 2023. Sarah would like to shine a light on it.
At university Sarah started studying for a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology. “When other kids were watching cartoons, I always wanted to switch over to watch the weather. It just fascinated me,” she says. She didn’t have a math/science brain so she moved into youth mental health instead. Her market stall is a pleasant counterpoint to this heavy work.
Sarah’s ‘Blind Date with a Book’ stall was inspired by her late best friend, who bought Sarah a book online, not realising it was used. She apologised, but Sarah was delighted that the book wasn’t new. “I’ve always liked the idea of second-hand gifting. I love that a used book has had a life before,” she says.
Wanting to try something different and fun, Sarah launched Little Read Book Co. in 2022. She enjoys the creativity of wrapping the books and writing an enticing teaser for each one. I intentionally choose good books that I think people may not think to pick up. “I want to promote diversity in literature and encourage people to read more widely,” she says.
“This business has been a form of therapy. It’s helped me with grieving by getting me out of the house, connecting me with people in my community, and talking about things I love – books and reading.
Sarah started out with a few small community markets. She really had to step out of her comfort zone trying this new venture. She got invaluable feedback from these smaller markets that helped her to fine tune things. “This business has been a form of therapy. It’s helped me with grieving by getting me out of the house, connecting me with people in my community, and talking about things I love – books and reading. The very last time I saw my friend she came down from Gippsland to surprise me at a market in Rye. We had an amazing day. She was really supportive. I feel more connected with her when I’m at the stall,” she says.
Sarah’s business continuously built steam and she was able to complete a whole season at the top craft markets in 2024 including her favourites: Little Beauty Market in Frankston and Emu Plains Market in Balnarring. With her other full-time job, she has to work six or seven days a week, but she feels it’s totally worth it.
“I love it when a customer comes back to tell me they loved the book they chose. I put a lot of time, thought, heart and effort into selecting my books. I enjoy helping people choose them. I study books and read reviews. It takes about two hours to prepare a book for sale from reading, wrapping and decorating to writing the introductory card,” she says.
“Reading makes me a more compassionate and empathetic person. It expands my thinking and it’s a form of escapism that’s helped me through difficult times. I’ve had a lot of joy from reading. I want to spread the joy of a simple pleasure like reading. It’s especially important in a world where people’s lives are so dominated by technology,” she says. A pleasure and a public service. What could be better?
littlereadbookco.com.au