Brian Baynes, owner of Brian’s Books (Photo by Zach Gibson)
“When I saw the space was up for rent, opening my own bookstore started to actually feel like a real possibility,” he says. Last registered with the city in 1988 as a fish market, the building at 2514 P St. has taken on a new, literary life as Brian’s Books.
As the author of the popular comics and manga fanzine Bubbles, Baynes is no stranger to the publishing business. In print since 2019, the zine spotlights cartoonists, colorists and collectors locally and nationwide, and came in handy as Baynes prepared to open Brian’s Books: For the December 2023 issue, he road-tripped along the East Coast and into Canada, interviewing bookstore owners about their businesses.
“It was eye opening to dive deeper into what it takes, what kinds of people are running these types of stores,” he says. “I gained a lot of knowledge and inspiration on bookselling in general.”
After eight months of preparation, Brian’s Books opened to the public on June 14. Baynes’ inventory includes paperback novels, vintage magazines, comics and a rotating collection of zines from near and far; Demystification, Baited Area, Dangerous Encounters and Rocker are just a few of the indie titles sold at the shop.
While admittedly partial to comics, Baynes approaches book sourcing with an open mind, finding many of his titles through estate sales, thrift stores and library donations. “My goal is to pay attention to and keep collecting more of what is desired. I’ve started taking donations and writing down recommendations,” he says. “Getting [books] into people’s hands that they are interested in, that’s so exciting to me.”
Baynes plans to continue his other artistic endeavors while running the shop, including the Richmond Zine Fest, scheduled for Oct. 10-11 at the Richmond Public Library. Brian’s Books is currently open Friday-Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“It’s been really surprising and rewarding watching stuff that I put on the shelf and think isn’t going to sell get picked up,” Baynes adds. “I want all different characters of Richmond to find what they’ve been looking for, to be able to find their niche in my store.”
