Victoria’s only mobile book truck, Meant Well Books, has just finished their first summer as a business in the city.
Meant Well Books was launched this past June by Melanie Brouwer and her 9-year-old daughter Arlo, who operate the business out of a small, Japanese Kei truck.
They have been busy all summer-long, hitting every market and pop-up they could, and have managed to sell over 500 books in just four months.
“It’s something that I have always wanted to do for at least a decade,” Brouwer told Victoria Buzz.
“I’ve always loved books and reading and writing, but I have a more typical nine-to-five outside of this, so it was a really accessible way to do something in that space.”
Brouwer says that seeing her dream realized really began when she saw a friend was selling a Kei truck online.
She bought it, coaxed her brother to help her build the book cases for it with free beer and enthusiasm and then started getting busy hitting local pop-ups and markets.
Brouwer added that her daughter Arlo is a huge motivator for her and that she couldn’t do this without her. Arlo is the “Head of Kids’ Books” for the business after all.
“She’s always loved reading and stories, but it’s just been really cute to see her making recommendations to other kids or grandparents that are shopping for a kid,” said Brouwer.
“Just to see her confidence grow in a different way has been adorable.”
Brouwer says that the truck is able to carry around 350 books at any given time, as well as other wares. Because Meant Well carries multiples of some of the better-sellers, she noted that they typically have between 150 and 200 titles at any given time.
As for sourcing the books, Brouwer’s goal is to have some best-sellers that people tend to gravitate towards, but she also makes an effort to find more niche titles with a range of fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, poetry and Arlo’s curated kids’ section.
In addition to attending various markets and pop-ups, Brouwer says she is really excited about a new endeavour that Meant Well Books has been trying out.
In late August, the business teamed up with Simon Says, a community club who host events in Victoria to try and help people connect and make new friends. Together, they hosted a reading party where around 175 people registered and showed up to check out Meant Well’s books, read together and connect with one another.
This Sunday, September 28th, they will be teaming up once again for another reading party, where there will also be snacks, beverages and other vendors.
Click here to find out more information on Meant Well Books’ reading party this weekend.
Now that school is back in session and Arlo is back in the classroom, Brouwer says that following the reading party, they will be making a concerted effort to be out in the community selling books at least once per month.
