This summer, St. Petersburg’s community of independent bookshops is getting a new member. It’s called Pages & Perks, and when it opens at 914 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St S, it promises to be an instant favorite for fiction lovers (and book lovers in general).
What Now spoke with owners Kate and Ben Johnson on Friday about the inspiration for the new bookshop, which will also feature a lounge serving up beer, wine, and especially mocktails.
“We’ve been so lucky to be able to do this,” Kate Johnson said. “We’ve been through stressful times in our careers, and one of the biggest things that got us through was reading—being able to read and escape. We wanted to be able to provide a space for other people to do that.”
Pages & Perks’ selection will be focused primarily on fiction, “mainly,” Johnson says, “because we really believ in getting lost in a story and being transported. That’s why we invite people to come and ‘escape with us’—whether you’re into horror, sci-fi, fantasy, or graphic novels, or your Dungeons & Dragons campaign. It’s about getting a moment of peace.”
You can also expect to find nonfiction books like biographies and histories, along with poetry and other arts interests, particularly arts and crafts. In an indie bookshop community where, as the Johnsons describe it, each store has its own little niche, this is theirs.
“The St. Pete bookstore community is so wonderful; we’re just hoping to add to it. We’ve been very lucky; they’ve all been so welcoming.”
As mentioned, the lounge’s main focus is on Curious Elixirs mocktails, potions with adaptogens, herbs, mushrooms, and other ingredients that help you kick back and relax without alcohol. That said, there will be a selection of beers from the Tampa Bay area—particularly breweries outside St. Pete, which, as Ben Johnson points out, are often not as readily available in St. Pete, with its robust brewery community.
One last question, What Now said. What are you favorite books?
Kate Johnson: “The book that got me into all this, that tipped me over the edge into being a more avid reader, which I wasn’t always, is Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver. That was my gateway drug.”
Ben Johnson: “My favorite book this year has been The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao.”
You can keep up with Pages and Perks by following @pagesandperksstpete on Instagram.
