Under the covers

Burrows

Winnipeg

Local readers of romance now have a dedicated book shop to call their own.

Bound to Please Books is a new romance-focused bookstore which aims to highlight local authors. Located at 995 McPhillips St., Bound to Please sells new and used romance novels of both the racy and cosy varieties, along with a good mix of everything in between.

For owner Dylan Yuen, having a bookstore that can also act as a community space is a dream come true.

“When I was younger, there used to be Sam’s Place, which used to be a bookstore and café (in Elmwood) and they would have concerts there,” Yuen said. “Now its just a café. One of my cousins performed there once and I was like, ‘I want to have a place like that, a bookstore where people could come and perform, too.’

“That’s something me and my friends always talked about, and now I ended up doing it.”

An English major at university, Yuen has always been a voracious reader.

“I have a huge book collection, a lot of stuff I thought other people might like too,” Yuen said. “I’m a really big sci-fi and fantasy fan, but nothing makes me, like, full-body sob like romance does. It just evokes such an emotional response from me. It’s also so overlooked a lot of the time.”

Studying literature in an academic environment only further confirmed that romance, as a genre, is deserving of more attention, Yuen added.

“We talked a lot about what academia values and what we consider worth studying, and how romance often gets overlooked … because its like a ‘woman’s genre,’” Yuen said. “People view it as trashy. But it’s a huge genre!

“Yeah, there are lots of trashy books, but I’ve read lots of fantasy and sci-fi that’s just whatever, too. There’s also a lot of really good romance, too.”

Yuen’s association with the Prairie Comics Festival, as well as other conventions such as Winnipeg Comicon, will hopefully become a catalyst for launching Bound to Please.

“There are so many writers there I was able to meet through that and read their stuff,” Yuen said. “Currently, the only new books I have are local authors, and that’s because getting an account through traditional publishing costs a lot of money. You have to pay a lot up front. Whereas when I’m getting books from local people it’s easier to just buy five copies.”

Books by local authors Yuen is excited about include Allie Leigh’s Of Mist and Magic series and Kate Butler’s Oath.

“They’re such wonderful books about community and found family,” Yuen said. “They’re just so wonderful.”

“As an indie author, having the support of a local bookstore is hugely uplifting,” Leigh said. “Writing a book takes a tremendous amount of time and effort, whether you are self-published or traditionally published, so anywhere that is willing to give your work a home is really special.”

While local authors are the focus at Bound to Please, the store is also stocked with a healthy collection of used books as well, with a greater variety of new and used books on the horizon.

“I’d also like to bring in other titles that aren’t local, like Heated Rivalry, which is so popular right now,” Yuen said.

Bound to Please joins other local bookshops like Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore (163 Lilac St.), Raven’s End Books (1859 Portage Ave.), and Dotted Lines (680 Watt St.) in providing curated, genre-specific spaces for local book lovers.

Like the old Sam’s Place, Yuen hopes to make Bound to Please a place where the community can gather, whether just to browse books or to attend an event, such as the silent reading club that meets monthly, romance book clubs, or workshops.

“I want to be an open third space. Even if you come in and don’t buy, it’s nice to have a third space that’s open, especially in the winter when it’s freezing,” Yuen said. “I’d like to do children’s readings or drag queen storytimes. Those would be really fun.”

“Small businesses have the opportunity to make a really positive impact on the community, and I think that is exactly what Bound to Please is doing,” Leigh added.

“Despite only being open a short time, they’ve already hosted multiple events, giving people a space to gather and enjoy different activities. I think that this, coupled with their dedication to promoting local authors, demonstrates that they’re trying to show what makes Winnipeg great, while also adding to it.”

Bound to Please Books is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit @b2pbooks on Instagram or TikTok.