Hi! We’re Kendra and Natalie, and a little over two years ago, we launched Something Novel Booksellers LLC, armed with a handful of donated books and a dream. We didn’t have much to go on, except a passion for reading and literacy, our respective work experiences, and the firm belief in Stephen King’s adage that “books are a uniquely portable magic.” Today, we’ve established ourselves as a reliable online bookstore and community member—we love attending markets and events with our pop-up shop, connecting with readers across the Inland Empire. But we’re ready for the next step: a brick-and-mortar storefront.

This campaign is about embodying our mission: to foster creativity, conversation, and community among book lovers, casual readers, and students alike. And what better way to do that than face-to-face? In today’s increasingly isolated world, people crave connection. That’s one of the many reasons why we hope to expand our offerings with a physical store—to create a comfortable “third space” where customers can:

In fact, the question we get most often is, “Where are you located?” Each time we respond with, “We’re online for now, but hope to open a storefront soon,” we are met with enthusiasm, excitement, and variations of “I can’t wait to visit your store!” It’s clear that our community longs for a corner bookstore, and we are prepared to meet that demand. This expansion into a physical space isn’t going to change who we are: it’s going to magnify our potential, transforming Something Novel Booksellers into a unique destination, where the classic and modern collide. We already offer both used and new books, but have limited inventory space. We already curate mystery book boxes and blind-date-with-a-book(s), but don’t have the room to store pre-packaged materials to meet demand sufficiently. As we’ve grown, our customer base has told us exactly what they want and need; we are determined to make that happen.

In order to make this next chapter a reality, we need to raise at least $50,000. We’re asking you, our amazing community, to help us reach this goal to bring the growing city of Ontario, California the bookstore it deserves. Our aim is to open by fall 2026.

We're utilizing GoFundMe's automated goal setting, which gradually adjusts our goal as donations come in—our first stop is $8,000.

To learn more about how we plan to use every penny raised, as well as details regarding our impact, risks, and challenges, please visit https://somethingnovelbooks.com/pages/crowdfunding.

Whether you are an avid bookworm, a casual reader, a parent wanting to bolster their child’s literacy, or just someone looking to support small women-owned businesses, we’re grateful. The written word has given us so much, including a way to connect with community members like you. Thank you for giving our independent bookstore a chance and helping ensure that books are here to stay!

This campaign has been launched in memory of our first investor, Donald Kravig (1956-2025).