POINT PLEASANT BEACH - Growing up in Freehold, Kelly Coyle Crivelli loved to read and established a successful career in publishing.
So it came as no surprise in 2019 when she opened The Little Point Bookshop, a Point Pleasant Beach-based bookstore and community hub dedicated to helping people of all ages embrace a love of reading.
“My father was a big reader who always encouraged me and all of my siblings to read,” recalled Coyle, 50, a Point Pleasant Beach resident. “As a kid, I especially loved reading Judy Blume books, the Betsy series of books, and Archie comics, and I used to read out loud to my younger sisters.”
After graduating from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a degree in English literature and creative writing, Coyle pursued a career in the publishing industry with such companies as academic publishing house John Wiley & Sons and Penguin Random House, where she currently works in library marketing.
But she always wanted to open a bookshop.
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“I love bookstores and there wasn’t one in the area at the time,” Coyle said of her decision to launch her own in 2019. Though she was unable to find the right space in Freehold where she originally planned to open it, “my sister lived in Point Pleasant Beach and we saw a cute space for rent there. My kids were starting to drive, I had time on the weekends, and for my mom, who was retiring, the shop seemed like a great way to keep her involved and active, so I thought that opening a bookstore would be a nice side thing,” she said of the venture.
“As it turned out, I didn’t realize how much the community needed it and how much the store would come to represent a relationship with the community and be more than just a shop,” she said.
“I named our store The Little Point Bookshop after the famous book 'The Little Paris Bookshop,' which was about a bookstore owner who cured people with books,” Coyle said. “Providing the right book for the right person was the whole concept behind our bookstore.”
After the store’s book club got so large that they outgrew their tiny space, Coyle began searching for a new location.
“As luck would have it, right around Christmas 2021, a ‘for rent’ sign went up in a 1,500-square-foot space across the street from us in the shop formerly occupied by antique furniture refinisher Magnolia Lane,” she said. “The owner was retiring to Florida and we ended up buying a lot of the furniture she was consolidating to help fill our new larger space, which we opened in February 2022.”
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'We know our audience'
In their cozy shop within a quaint, vintage building on Arnold Avenue, “we carry a little bit of everything for people who don’t want to have to choose between a million books,” Coyle said.
“We know our audience and offer a curated collection for our customers, who enjoy women’s fiction, fun beach reads, a good mystery or horror story, or a feel-good book or rom-com — nothing too stressful. They want a good story that they can talk about with their friends,” she said, “so our shop tends to feature less John Grisham and James Patterson and more indie and first-time authors.”
“There are a lot of books in the market today, so we try to make things easier for readers, because choosing a book from among the many different titles out there can get overwhelming,” she continued. “Our customers come in and ask, ‘So what am I reading next?’ because they love the fact that we do the selecting for them.”
When it comes to choosing books for the shop, “I make most of the decisions based on my background in publishing, but we definitely take customer and staff recommendations as well, making us a true community bookshop,” said Coyle, who noted that the books in the store's collection represent a range of price points to please all budgets.
“For example, you can pick up everything from a children’s book for as little as $6 to a standard hardcover (which we discount by 10%) for around $25 or a more expensive coffee table/collectible book for $40 to $50.”
Along with selling books and related accessories, “we run a monthly book club that’s had as many as 60 participants, all of whom have become friends with us and each other,” Coyle said. “We also rent out our shop for birthday parties, baby showers and other events as well as feature live music and host open mic events.”
And don’t forget the delicious coffee available at the shop thanks to Shore Pour Espresso Bar.
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“A few years ago, I met Nicki Ballestreri, owner of Shore Pour Espresso Bar, and we became great friends,” Coyle said. “They have a larger, free-standing location in Sea Girt, but Nicki was looking to open a smaller second location and it was always our plan to bring them in as we moved to our new shop two years ago. They officially opened in our space in fall 2022, and it’s been a fantastic relationship and customer offering ever since.”
Beyond the products she sells, however, the civic-minded Coyle recognizes the invaluable role her shop plays in the local area.
“A lot of people come to us who are new in town, empty nesters or recently widowed, and we’re a welcoming space that’s become a bit of a community center,” she said. “Starting this November, we’ll even be hosting a monthly evening event where people can bring a snack and just hang out.”
A great escape
Amid today’s fast-paced, highly connected society, Coyle believes that people are gravitating back to traditional pastimes like letter-writing and reading physical books once again.
“There’s no fear of e-books taking over,” she said. “I think that people want something simpler and a way to escape from computers and devices.”
At the same time, Coyle said that it can be challenging to compete with chain bookstores and online competitors.
“Unlike those providers, we’re not backed by a corporation or investors. We’re a family business, so we worry about inflation, rising book costs, customer demand and creating compelling events,” Coyle said. “We want to keep up with the bigger guys while maintaining our own unique look and feel.”
But while she confirmed that competing with larger players is a daily problem, “people like to be part of a community and they appreciate and want a local bookstore to survive because we offer a different experience,” she said. “Our customers come here to explore and are looking to ‘discover’ a book or a new writer.”
In addition to hosting actor and author Edward Burns for a book discussion at Point Pleasant Beach High School on Oct. 8, Coyle is excited for her shop to participate in the Point Pleasant Beach Mayor’s Wellness Campaign — a community-focused initiative aimed at promoting health and well-being — this Oct. 6 from noon to 4 p.m. at the town’s bandshell on the corner of Arnold and Baltimore Avenues.
“Given the growing movement to ban certain books, we’ll be at the event hosting a book and literacy festival and are excited to celebrate the relationship the town has with our bookstore and several other businesses,” she said. “We’d love to see this event turn into a new annual tradition.”
Since celebrating the bookshop’s milestone fifth anniversary this past February, Coyle can’t help but think about its inspiration — her beloved father David, who passed away 22 years ago.
Run by Coyle and a handful of employees, many of whom are members of her family, “this bookstore is a celebration of my dad, an incredibly smart and well-read man who had so many friends from all walks of life and always made everyone feel comfortable,” she said. “In that spirit, I hope that our bookstore is bigger than us and represents a place where people can come whether they’re having a good or bad day and feel like they’re among friends.”
As for her favorite part of the business, “I love all of the amazing people that The Little Point Bookshop has brought into my life, so many of whom have become incredibly good friends,” she said. “We’re all about creating a space where people can discover a great book, grab coffee and sit with friends. We love being a relaxing hometown hangout.”
The Little Point Bookshop
Location: 618 Arnold Ave., Point Pleasant Beach
Phone: 848-232-4844
Opened: 2019
Owner: Kelly Coyle
Website: www.thelittlepointbookshop.com
Facebook: facebook.com/thelittlepointbookshop
Instagram: instagram.com/thelittlepointbookshop
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